


The Long Game

by Lying_Dragon



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-08
Updated: 2016-09-01
Packaged: 2018-08-10 04:20:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7830235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lying_Dragon/pseuds/Lying_Dragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Estelle had a pretty unorthodox, somewhat rough start. It's not gonna be easy, but this is her dream- and if she lets something stand in her dream's way, she was never worthy of it anyways. That dream? Becoming a Pokemon Master. But just because everybody else has a head start doesn't mean Estelle is backing down any time soon, no matter who is in her way. (Note: The first three chapters are really quite awful. My apologies. I promise to fix them once the story is going.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Outbound

"'IT'S A BRIGHT, SUNNY DAY IN HOENN! TAILLOW ARE CHIRPING, NINCADA ARE CRAWLING, AND MY LOVELY PICHU IS POSITIVELY CHEERFUL! WHAT A GREAT OMEN!'

'Er, thank you, Mr. Wattson-'

'HA-HA! JUST WATTSON, FRIEND!'

'Yes, sorry, Mr.-'

'WATTSON! HA-HA!'

'Um, this will conclude our morning news segment.'"

Estelle closed her laptop. Brendan had said that it would be funny, but as per the youth's somewhat lacking sense of humor, it was just disappointing. Almost as disappointing as the new girl in town, Emerald or whatever.

Strong and silent, my ass, Estelle thought to herself. The little twelve-year-old just looked down on her. Just because I don't have a pokemon at 16 doesn't mean anything!

It wasn't her fault. Estelle had to work! Her mom's fishing business couldn't get by without her, so day after day she reeled in Magikarp, but let Goldeen, Tentacool, and even the odd Corphish go.

Somewhat sadly.

\--

Estelle ate dinner silently that night.

"What's wrong, dear?" her mother asked, concerned. "Estelle, you're usually planning for becoming a Pokemon Master at this point."

Estelle's face was controlled. "Brendan and Emerald got some rare pokemon from the Professor. I heard he even gave the last one to his wife."

Her mother went silent.

"Mom, how come I have to work here all the time? I hate it! I hate fishing! Can't you hire somebody else?" Estelle was suddenly enraged. It wasn't fair! She'd worked longer than some adults at this point!

Her mom remained stonily wordless, letting Estelle finish her tirade.

"I hate it here! I hate how you make me pass up my dream, I hate how every other kid my age gets to go adventure, I hate this stupid town!" she shrieked.

"Are you finished?" The matron of the house growled coolly, "Because if that's really how you think, you don't deserve what I do for you."

"Do for me?" Estelle was enraged. "Do for me? You ruined my life!"

The anger stopped being so hot all of a sudden. Realization flooded Estelle's mind, giving her a new idea. One that was dangerous, one that was probably ill-advised. But it would also grant her freedom. If Estelle was totally honest, it wasn't even a new idea, and everything had been building up to this for a while.

Estelle ate quietly, ignoring her mother's reprimands.

\--

It was late. Estelle had a bag full of her savings, some spare, sturdy clothes, the three Pokeballs she'd managed to buy, a Potion and an Antidote from the medicine cabinet, and most importantly, the Trainer ID she'd gotten at thirteen. The bag itself was a rugged thing, simple but efficient. Its grey-green color didn't stick out too much, and it was moderately sized. All in all, an average bag.

It went with Estelle's disguise. Hoenn was hot, so hopefully nobody would think that the person dressed in a teal, long-sleeved jacket, blue working jeans, and a blue balaclava (she'd have to hide her face, of course, and this was all Oldale had) was her.

Estelle was old friends with Mr. Briney and Peeko. He could sail her to Slateport, and off she'd go to Sinnoh.

\--

She arrived a day and a half later. Not without trouble, of course- a near miss with a pack of Poochyena had scared Estelle half to death. Now that she was away from where people would recognize her, she removed her balaclava, letting her long, orange hair to the wind.

Estelle traipsed through the sand up to Mr. Briney's cottage, careful to avoid any scrapes with wild pokemon in the tall grass. One of the fisherman waved, but otherwise nothing really happened. Knocking on Mr. Briney's door quickly rewarded her with the weathered, smiling face of the old seaman.

"Ha-hey, it's Estelle! Don't think I expected ta see ya before my next trip ta Littler't," he grinned knowingly.

"Ah, ha, um... yeah," was all Estelle managed to stammer before the gentle old man chuckled and stepped out, Peeko following faithfully.

"Finally decided ta take things inta yer own hands, right?"

"Yeah! How did you--"

"Call it a sailor's inta-ition. What I want ta know is how ye got here without a pokemon of yer own."

"Luck," Estelle bluntly stated. "A pack of Poochyena was more interested in something other than me."

Briney grinned wider at that. "Honesty'll take ya far, 'stelle."

Estelle couldn't help but to smile at the friendly nickname. She supposed all her fishing had done her some good, in making such a friend as Briney.

"But I suppose we'd ought ta head ta Slateport, yeah?" he said.

Estelle nodded, determined. When she stepped onto the old fishing ship, she did not so much as glance back to Petalburg woods.

\--

They stopped in the afternoon for lunch, a humble thing consisting of simple sandwiches and, for Peeko, basic traveling pokemon food. Estelle was a bit baffled, as she could see Slateport from here, but didn't question it.

Without a word, Mr. Briney pulled a large egg from a cabinet beneath his cabin, smiling. He held it out, and Estelle took it, gingerly setting it in her lap.

She was shocked. The egg was purple, with black and white stripes. It was surprisingly elegant, and warm to the touch.

"Is this a pokemon egg!?" asked a suddenly thrilled Estelle. It wasn't every day she got to see an egg, let alone touch one. And to call it her own? Unheard of.

"Of course! Think of it as my parting gift ta ye. I'll be missing ye, but I'll feel a bit better knowing ye've got something with ye," the old seaman said through a smile. "Besides, I can't afford ta keep it myself. Needed a home, and as I don't rightly know what it is, I figured ye'd probably get more use out of it than the Day Care."

Practically in tears, shaking, and sobbing, Estelle still choked out, "Oh, thank you, Mr. Briney, thank you! You've made my dreams a reality with this! I can't thank you enough." She just held the egg for a while longer, and the two friends, young and old, were content to sit in the sun.

Until the egg trembled in Estelle's arms. Actually, when she looked closely, it had a few cracks in it.

"Is it hatching?" she asked, eyes full of wonder.

Mr. Briney shook his head, saying, "No, it's not due for a few days yet. It just takes a while ta get through the thick shell, so it'll be shaking and cracking for a while, until what's inside is strong enough ta be free."

Estelle could wait a while longer. She'd waited six years, a few more days was nothing.

\--

Later, the egg safely stowed in a now-packed bag, Mr. Briney pulled up to Slateport's dock.

"Well, lass, there's a few ways offa Hoenn. Ye could head up ta Sinnoh, like I heard ye talkin' about when ye thought ye were alone, or ye could head all the way out to Y'nova, or maybe even Kanto, if yer feeling brave."

Her plan not to be shaken, Estelle reaffirmed, "Sinnoh is where I want to go. What's the best way there?"

Mr. Briney thought for a minute before replying. "There's a respectable captain headed that way in a couple hours. Tickets are pricey, yeah, but ye'll be able to pay him with whatchye got. I'd help, but alas, I'm a poor old man of the sea."

Estelle laughed, "No, no, you've helped enough already! The journey alone was tremendous, and the pokemon more than I could hope for. Thank you for that. And, well, thanks for being my friend. You were the best part of Littleroot. I'll miss you."

"Aye, lass," Mr. Briney nodded sadly, "I'm sorry for the troubles ye've had already at such an age. I'm glad for ye, but sad ra see ye go. It's for the best, but I'll miss ye."

Estelle hugged the old man fondly. Briney hugged her back, and then off she went.

But this time, she did take a look back, and saw him waving. Estelle supposed there was at least one good thing in that part of Hoenn.

\--

Estelle found the captain quickly. His price per ticket was high, at five thousand, and ate most of her savings in one big gulp, but it included room and board on the Island Pride, a large, trans-oceanic cruise liner.

It had one destination, no stops- Canalave City, Sinnoh.

Estelle's journey had an odd start. She had no pokemon (yet), no friends (basically), no family (hopefully), and yet, she had a lot of hope. In Sinnoh, nobody knew her name, her family, or how late she started.

Estelle would be free to make her mark. Sure, it was an unusual start, but now she was going.

Shouldering her bag once more, the egg safely tucked away, Estelle stepped onto the boat that would start her journey.

|World Information Index (WII)- Chapter 4: Important Trainers- Entry 3c: Estelle Fischer of Hoenn|

Estelle began her journey in an unusual way. After escaping family strife and running away, she acquired her most famously powerful pokemon as naught but an infant, and set sail without a combat-worthy pokemon to her name. Already, her dogged determination had shown itself.

\--Chapter One: End--

Author's Note:

And so, our hero's journey begins!

If you've enjoyed this, I'm proud of you, because holy crap are these first few chapters rough.


	2. The Canalave Commoners

|World Information Index (WII)- Chapter 4: Important Trainers- Entry 3c: Estelle Fischer of Hoenn|

Estelle began her journey in an unusual way. After escaping family strife and running away, she acquired her most famously powerful pokemon as naught but an infant, and set sail without a combat-worthy pokemon to her name. Already, her dogged determination had shown itself.

 

Slateport was a big place. It dwarfed Littleroot, Petalburg, and Oldale combined. It had a sprawling market that was larger than the Professor’s (had Estelle really never learned his name in such a small town?) laboratory..

Canalave was massive. The huge canal dividing it was impressively big on its own, not to mention the sprawling hub of commerce and trade. At the pier itself, high-class homes and merchantry dominated, but in the far parts, a slum with decidedly Kanto-inspired architecture, a high-rise skyscraper surrounded by up-and-coming steel towers, and suburbs spilling out into the wilds.

The Island Pride was not a small boat, but the huge cargo ships, featuring the symbol of Unova’s League, a Pokeball for Silph Company, and the uninspired rock of the Devon Corporation, made it seem like a Tympole in a pond. Following that analogy, the boats were Tyranitars stepping in that pond.

Estelle was pleased. Canalave was so different, so exotic! It was exactly what she’d hoped to see in Sinnoh.

Of course, with only a few hundred dollars to her name, that was probably going to suck when she needed a roof over her head, but Estelle would deal with that when it came to bear. For now, it was the morning, and she could explore a bit.

-

As it turned out, her money was not going to go nearly as far as she’d hoped. Undoubtedly Estelle’s mother had been underpaying her, if eight years of saving everything- with a few hundred spent on Pokeballs as the exception- was, in the end, a ticket and a few items or a room.

But Estelle had been wise enough to plan ahead. In Hoenn, all trainers were required to give up money upon losing- however, in Sinnoh, that was not the case. A trainer had to have P1000 to be required to give away money- Estelle had P545, far from that limit. If she could hatch her pokemon quickly, she could train it up and beat somebody in a fight to win her rent, resupply, and anything else she needed.

Until that point, it would be work.

-

As it turned out, the Kanto-style slums were a lot of things. Rancid, decrepit, and weathered, namely, but they were cheap, too. A whole night in a proper innl for just P200- quite a deal.

Unfortunately, Estelle was not bound for comfort. The bed’s sheets crunched, the reason for which she could, regrettably, imagine. The pillow was in a similar manner, so she opted to just not use the bed.

The room was very small, essentially just the bed, a battered, somewhat fragile looking desk, and a notably missing chair for the desk. No windows or anything.

Still, the place to stay was more important, and besides, that bed probably wasn’t sanitary.

So her first night in Sinnoh ended, nearly broke, cold, and uncomfortable. Still, she had hope- when the pokemon hatched, her troubles would begin to fade.

-

The next morning started very early, as the sun leeched over the skyline of Canalave. The dock workers grunted angrily to each other, the canal flow control teams switched shifts, and the day began.

Estelle’s did too. She hurried to the docks, hoping to find work for a fisherman. Unfortunately, it seemed some twenty or thirty other people had the same idea. Estelle stood there in her blue coat, green eyes squinting against the chilly wind, amongst men muscular and jaundiced alike. She herself was no slouch, fit from long days of fighting the powerful pokemon of the sea.

Before too long, the dock crews came in.

A tall, blonde fellow shouted to calm the crowd, “‘Ey, lads, c’mon! Focus, focus! We’re lookin’ for the deff t’day, none o’ ya brutes. Go home, Charles, I know ya out the’. Awright, Kanto, Robertson, that blue lady wiv the fishing pole, and the chap with the green hat.”

A few jeers rose, but most were smart enough to start heading to the next hiring without delay. The unruly soon followed, not to be outdone, and before long the whole crowd was gone, save those chosen.

Estelle had been lucky, and she knew it. Silently, she and her new comrades walked up to the accented blonde.

“Awright, what we’re doin’. Robertson, Kanto, you lads are showin’ Pole and Hat here the ropes of canal cleaning. We needs to get this done wiv as soon as possible, so the kids ‘re gonna be cleaning the sides,” he commanded.

Robertson and Kanto nodded, looking slightly put out, but grimly determined. Estelle hoped she would never see that look in her own eyes.  
Kanto nodded to her, as Robertson led Hat off to the far side of the canal.

“Well, my name’s Gerald, actually, not Kanto. Only the bastard chav calls me that. Not you, yeah?” he glared.

Estelle frowned, not fazed in the slightest. “Alright, then, Gerald,” she said, “I can do that. Now, what do we have to do today?”

-

Estelle came back to her room. Thankfully, it was still locked, the egg wrapped warmly in her bag. Everything was in place, and she was P2300 richer. Not much, but enough to get her going. Now, if she was going to be staying here, she ought to get to know her neighbors.

Well, neighbor, she was the last room on this side of the hall. Estelle knocked on the adjacent room’s door, putting a pleased smile on her face.

It opened to reveal a young girl, even younger than her, peeking through the door just two feet off the ground. Estelle leaned down onto her knees, to be closer to the girl’s height.

“Hey, sweetie, where’s your parents?” she asked, voice laced with sugar.

The girl was unimpressed, apparently, as she said nothing and closed the door.

Typical, Estelle growled internally.

-

After another day, and another P1205 (now totaling P4300), something glorious happened.

The egg hatched.

Estelle came home to a violently shaking bag. Hurriedly, she unsnapped it, pulling the egg onto her lap. Cracks spiraled and webbed across the once-glossy, elegant design of the eggshell. In a few places, violet light shone through, letting Estelle know that whatever this was, it was a Psychic.

Then, in a pulse of purple-pink energy, stronger than before, the egg was shattered, sending bits a few feet in every direction.

What appeared was a tiny pokemon, obviously immature. It had a large head with a purple face, about the size of its body, and a small tuft of black hair on top. On either side of its head were two white “ribbons,” purpose unknown. The little thing had a white ribbon on its neck, too. Its body was black, with a white, diamond-esque stripe running around it. Baby blue eyes stared intently at Estelle.

Estelle stared back, disbelieving. She hadn’t known what to expect, but she had no idea what this was, other than a Psychic-type. Still, she’d take good care of it. On that thought, she quickly checked its gender, identifying it as a female.

The baby pokemon deserved a name, but Estelle wanted it to be sentient and able to contribute when that happened. Until then, she’d have to use her savings to feed it and pay rent. A baby pokemon required too much attention to go to work.

“Wee-woo,” she called, as if to remind Estelle of that fact.

-

After about a week, she stopped growing at a little over a foor.. In that short time, Estelle had been reduced to only P2400. She estimated she had another week before she would be unable to pay rent, but thankfully the pokemon seemed ready to be independent, more or less.

The “more or less” stemmed from its incessant staring at Estelle. She could not shake the unwavering, unblinking gaze of the tiny thing. Regardless, the pokemon seemed to show an understanding of Estelle’s words, so she was ready to be named.

“Hey, do you want a name, baby girl?” Estelle cooed to the pokemon. It nodded seriously, still staring.

“How about Blue?”

It stared.

“Psyche?”

Staring.

“Brainiac?”

Staring.  
“Mind-o?”

Staring, somewhat disappointed now.

Estelle wasn’t very good at this.

-

Within the hour, though, Estelle settled on Meru, part of some ancient language’s word for mind. Meru herself was pleased to have a name, though that showed for all of a moment.

And, more importantly, Meru was mature. Estelle could train, work, and get herself geared up to leave. Canalave city was cool, but the gym was way out of her league- she needed to head out to Jubilife, and then Oreburgh. There, she could challenge Roark. Of course, she was getting ahead of herself- right now, it was time to get ready.

-

Meru took to solitude quite well. She stared out of the window into the sky, unblinking. Estelle did not have a very hyper pokemon on her hands, though that was probably a good thing.

But training could begin after a long day’s work, so her own excitement more than made up for it.

“Alright, Meru,” Estelle said, standing in a ruined house, “Show me what you can do!”

Meru turned faintly pink, and a nearby rock fell over. She turned to Estelle, exhausted.

Estelle frowned, but cheered Meru on. It looked like she’d have a long way to go.

Despite that, she was a dedicated teacher. Meru always ate, even if Estelle didn’t. They trained every day, with a serious focus on getting what appeared to be Confusion up to battling standards. In just a week or two, Meru could chuck rocks at great speed, and lift iron bars with a bit of effort.

That’s gotta be good enough, Estelle thought, because we need to get out of here. It’s bad for my health. That much was true- her hair, cut short for practical reasons, was as clean as possible- which meant only fairly dirty, rather than extremely. Her clothes were better off, but her backpack was a bit gross, as Meru’s egg had leaked quite an amount of liquid onto it before Estelle got it out.

With that, Estelle bid her innkeeper goodbye- he was a distant man, so it was all very professional. She walked for a while then, her feet taking her for about three hours, until she had crossed the bridge and reached the gates.

Behind her, a city she’d come to know. Before her, a route filled filled with promise, mystery, and potential. Estelle had made no friends in Canalave, so leaving wasn’t hard. Still, it was daunting- the beginning of her career as a trainer. Finally away from manual labor and soul-rending sameness.

Meru stared at her evenly.

“Yeah, I know. Let’s get going,” Estelle smiled, taking her first steps into her real future.

 

|Canalave City Newscast|

Reporter: Recently, a large number of trainers have gone missing. All of the trainers disappeared at once, with no real connections between them. Powerful and weak, young and old, specialists and generalists. Whoever or whatever is taking them does not discriminate, and does not need to. We advise caution, and if you have a pokemon, to take it with you wherever you go.

In other news, a young man by the name of Pearl destroyed our city’s Gym Leader in a fantastic display of skill!

 

Author's Note:

Wow, you made it all the way here? Good job. I'm really impressed. If you want to leave a comment, I'd really rather it was on a later chapter- I feel my writing drastically improves as this goes on until around chapter 7, where it levels off. Scraping off the rust, really. So, you know, you should totally read the rest of this story.

And again, thanks for going this far. If you've stuck it out, leaving a comment is appreciated. Hope to see you next chapter, too.


	3. Let the Traveling Commence

|After her stay in Canalave City, Estelle was eastbound: Jubilife awaited Meru and her. Unfortunately for them, Route 218 was largely the water, so they had to do something quite dangerous: go around.|

After studying the map for a long time, Estelle declared Route 218 impassable. For her and Meru, at least. Instead, the traveling pair would be required to go through the forest, then the plains, before cutting back onto 218.

The reason people stay on Routes is very simple. The pokemon that go there are always just passing through, as humanity has staked its claim on that segment of earth. But when one is foolish enough to venture into the wilds proper, things are different.

Pokemon are territorial. They are vicious, terrified of humans, and spiteful- all traits that help them survive without being caught. In short, it’s a lot more dangerous to go around. But Estelle didn’t really have an option. The Route itself was impassable to her without assistance, something she couldn’t afford, and she didn’t have the money to stay in Canalave any longer- it had all been spent on food for her and Meru.

Speaking of supplies, she would need to be careful. Estelle had more than enough food, but only two Pokeballs left, and the Potion and Antidote from her house.

“Well, Meru, it’s gone okay so far,” she said, nervous. They were a half day’s journey into the woods, and so far it was uneventful. A few Budew had made themselves known, but otherwise there was nothing out there.

Until, that is, Estelle saw something moving up ahead. It was a softly glowing orange light, barely penetrating the shadows on the unnamed forest.

“Pundu-da, pun-daww…” something cried, from not far beyond the light. Estelle was unnerved, but that was where she needed to go, according to her map- it was east by the thing’s inbuilt compass, and Estelle couldn’t afford diversions.

Glancing at Meru, who had turned to stare at the light, Estelle began walking forwards to it.

-

Things continued like that until evening. Continually, the light moved back, and every once in awhile a soft pundu could be heard chattering from ahead.

Estelle was exhausted now, though. She had the kind of muscles made for fishing- strong for just a few minutes. Endurance was not something Estelle had in spades. Meru, too; she had to be returned to her Pokeball before long, else she’d be too exhausted to fight.

Warily, Estelle made a simple camp- no fire, just her sleeping bag. She had no ability to light a flame, even if she was afraid to do that in the wilderness.

In a burst of soft red energy, Estelle released Meru.

“Watch that fire, okay?” she asked, and Meru nodded, turning the unblinking gaze she had come to be known for to the distant flame.

\--

“Pundu-da,” something muttered from nearby. Estelle’s eyes snapped open, totally awake. Meru was gently touching her face in an attempt to raise her.

“Meru, knock that thing away,” Estelle whispered to the little pokemon. Meru’s eyes flashed pink, and a pulse of energy lashed out to the round thing, which proved to be the source of light from earlier.

It slammed across the dark camp into a tree, and there it burst into glowing activity. The glow poured from a face on a mostly-leaf stem, as well as two holes in a pumpkin-like body. Estelle knew this one from the TV- a Pumpkaboo, a ghost-type that had recently begun appearing around the world.

“Pundu-ru!” the possessed fruit called angrily. It flashed grey, then appeared inches before Meru, slamming her back and leaving ghostly energy wriggling around her. Meru’s psychic abilities faltered, leaving her defenseless until a Pokeball smacked into the pumpkin part of the wild Pumpkaboo.

Estelle wasn’t going to have her only pokemon knocked out in its first battle.

Red energy coalesced around the frantic ghost-type, sucking it into the Pokeball. Estelle wasn’t naive, though, and helped Meru up, ready to attack in case the Pumpkaboo escaped the capture device.

It did so a few tense moments after Meru stood up and readied herself. The Pumpkaboo was instantly launched into a nearby tree, left stunned. It seemed disoriented, too, most likely a side effect of Meru’s Confusion-based attack. Meru hit it once more, and it could barely move any more.

Estelle walked up to the shivering ghost. It puru-ed angrily, but didn’t do anything more.

“Hey, little guy. I’m Estelle. I know you’re hurt, but if you travel with me I can heal you up,” she offered.

Pumpkaboo’s eyes remained narrow, but it nodded. Estelle showed it the Potion she’d been saving, as well as her last Pokeball.

“Now, I’m going to have to put you in this Pokeball,” she warned, “Because that’s the rules. After that, I’ll fix you up in a jiffy.” At the mention of the Pokeball, Pumpkaboo hissed, but eventually relented. A few minutes later, the Potion had worked its magic, and Pumpkaboo was back on shaky legs.

Meru just looked at it. Pumpkaboo seemed uncomfortable with that, and puru-ed angrily. Meru turned, without really reacting, to go back to staring at Estelle.

Said ginger offered her hand to Pumpkaboo, silently asking to pet it. It looked plenty soft. Pumpkaboo hissed, and bit her, drawing a hint of a smile from Meru.

Estelle sighed. It looked like her team was getting along, at least.

-

The forest ended soon after the capture of her newest teammate. Estelle had offered to give it a nickname, but Pumpkaboo had refused, also refusing to allow her to check its gender.

Still, it had softened a bit. It would converse with her through nods, like Meru did, though much more readily than the eerie psychic. Pumpkaboo made Estelle’s traveling a bit less lonely, to her relief.

Another benefit of leaving the forest was that the terrain was gentle enough for Meru and Pumpkaboo to both be out with Estelle. That proved to be a boon, as before too long they stumbled upon a herd of Girafarig. The long-necked yellow and black pokemon flicked their antennae nervously.

Estelle tried to keep quiet, but she was no match for the heightened senses of a wild pokemon. Most of the Girafarig- the young, the weak, the elderly- fled to the distance, but two stayed behind. They brayed angrily, scraping hooves, with pseudo-sentient tails whipping just as furiously.

It was time for combat, again.

“Alright! Pumpkaboo, Astonish! Meru, use Confusion to send dirt into their eyes.” Pumpkaboo slipped into its own shadow, appearing beneath the smaller of the two foes at hand. It slammed into its enemy, but the ghostly energy from the attack passed over it harmlessly. Meru’s dirt got into four of eight opposing eyes, but the Girafarig didn’t need to see Pumpkaboo to know where it was. The one standing over Estelle’s little ghost punted it back to where she was. Meanwhile, the other’s eyes glowed and sent a weak blast of psychic energy in Meru’s direction.

Meru calmly absorbed the Confusion, responding by psychically hurling a small rock in the offending pokemon’s direction. Pumpkaboo, too, was not to be defeated, and simply tackled the small Girafarig. The assaults of two trained pokemon proved to be enough to scare the wild beasts off, and once more Estelle and her party were safe.

Meru was fine, but Pumpkaboo had a hoof mark in its pumpkin. It puru-ed pitifully.

“Sorry, buddy, but I’m out of Potions. Those are expensive, and I’m poor. We can keep our eyes out for Oran berries, though- those grow well out here,” Estelle offered in recompense. Pumpkaboo seemed to accept that, and the journey resumed mostly uneventfully.

As such, Estelle could finally enjoy it. She looked out across the wide, green plains, dotted with small lakes and the occasional Starly. The grass’ viridian hue was beautiful, and was just different enough from the sky to avoid confusion. It was the kind of thing Estelle had been hoping to see on her journey, not the wretched slums of some city.

Meru, for her part, stared out at the horizon. The little pokemon seemed to appreciate it, too, and Estelle felt a pleasant rush. This was what being a trainer was about, she reckoned. Enjoying time with your Pokemon and seeing the world.

Still, it was time to get going. Wouldn’t do to have that herd interrupt her tranquility, after all.

-

Jubilife City. The first big stop for any new trainer from Twinleaf, Canalave, or Sandgem. Admittedly, most trainers didn’t have quite the same level of difficulty getting here, but Estelle was sure they felt the same rush of reaching a real goal. It was here, in this city, that you could make big decisions, and get going to your first badge, once the Gym Challenge started up.

Estelle was here for a much less glamorous reason- she needed a Sinnoh Trainer ID. Usually, your local Professor would give that to you, but Estelle was one of the special circumstances where that wasn’t really an option. She needed to go register at the Trainer School, to get the free healing, room, and sustenance offered to Trainers at Pokemon Centers.

As she entered the city proper, with more people and pokemon around, Pumpkaboo started to get nervous. It was understandable, as the pokemon was truly wild, probably never having met a human besides Estelle. Meru was fine, having been in much more cramped conditions during her formative period.

To comfort the distressed ghost, Estelle scooped it up in her arms. It was pretty easy, as the little pumpkin was smaller than Meru, and lighter, too. While it normally would have hissed, it seemed Pumpkaboo would be making an exception this time around.

-

The Trainer school was much less crowded, with not even a full class to be seen. Pumpkaboo happily propelled itself from Estelle’s arms, content to walk around. Meru looked up at Estelle, clearly asking for a turn of her own. She obliged, as even though Pumpkaboo was smaller and lighter, Meru was far from heavy.

The trio made their way to the help desk, where they were redirected to the principal.

“A Sinnoh Trainer ID? Well, your Hoenn ID exempts you from the theory test, but we’ll need you to take the practical one still. Don’t worry, we’ll fix that Pumpkaboo right up,” the jovial, well-dressed man said to her, “And right after that you can battle another trainer in a fairly similar position.”

True to his word, thirty minutes later Estelle stood across from a blue-haired girl.

Her hair was fancily braided, with two pink clips holding it up. She wore a white hat, a long red coat, and a white scarf. A fierce, but cunning expression ruled her face, and the girl seemed to be about Estelle’s age.

“Alright! I’ve been studying at this school for the past six years, so there’s no way Piplup and I are gonna lose to you!” she jeered, clearly confident.

“We’ll see about that,” Estelle replied, keeping a cool head. The girl had given away her pokemon, and strategies were already forming. Piplup was technically a ranged fighter, but it was unlikely that somebody without a Trainer ID would have gotten it to know much beyond Tackle and Water Gun. Normally, Pumpkaboo would be her answer, but Estelle hadn’t had time to train it yet.

“Alright, girls, listen up! This will be a one-on-one battle, no substitutions. It ends at either the Principal’s discretion or when one pokemon is unable to battle. Dawn will release first. Once both pokemon are on the field, the battle will begin,” a referee droned, obviously not particularly interested.

Dawn, as the referee called her, wasn’t fazed by going first. Apparently, she only had one pokemon.

“Go, Piplup!” she called, releasing the small water-type.

“Alright, Meru, you’re up. Keep it away from you,” Estelle commanded. Meru hopped onto the small battlefield.

“Tackle it!” Dawn cried out. Piplup chirped, and charged Meru.

Meru was having none of it, replying by picking up the little bird with Confusion, and knocking it back a foot or two. Piplup was stunned, but not defeated. At Dawn’s command, it launched a stream of water forth. Meru was knocked back, but still able to send a pulse of pink energy Piplup’s way. The bird mostly avoided it, but was still clipped and stumbled. Another pulse from Meru before it could react, and the battle was finished.

“Haha, yeah! We did it, Meru!” Estelle cheered, “Hey, Dawn, that was pretty good!”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m sure,” the girl muttered angrily. Before she could do anything else, though, the principal’s laugh interrupted her.

“A good battle! Even though Estelle won, you put up a much better fight this time, Dawn. You’ll both be getting your Sinnoh Trainer IDs!” he cheered. Dawn perked up at that, and Estelle flashed her a grin. Both girls followed the principal to his office.

“Alright, now. Before I can give you this, you have two things to do. The first is to take the trainer’s oath. The second is to sign this and take your Trainer Picture. Now, repeat after me…”

-

Some time later, Dawn and Estelle ecstatically ran out of the building. Pumpkaboo and Meru followed at a decidedly uninterested pace.

“We did it! We get to go be real trainers now!” Dawn said, voicing her enthusiasm. Estelle laughed in agreement, then had a great idea.

“Hey, where are you going after this? Oreburgh, right?” she asked, hesitant.

Dawn nodded, “Yeah, why? Do you wanna travel together for a while?”

“Yes! That’s right. I’d be thrilled to go with you, and it’ll make our journeys a lot safer,” Estelle agreed.

Meru just stared at Dawn, not making any noise. Pumpkaboo was doing its own thing while the girls talked.

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Dawn said, “Why’d you name your Gothita? It’s unusual to name your pokemon, is all.”

“Oh, that’s simple. I didn’t know what she was,” Estelle laughed, embarrassed, while the two walked to the Poketech store.

“What? Why didn’t you just look it up in your Pokedex?” Dawn asked, tilting her head.  
Estelle looked away. It was awfully hot and crowded in Jubilife, all of a sudden.

“I- I don’t have one. Sorry,” she said, flushed. Estelle didn’t realize until now just how embarrassing it was, things having gone the way they did.

Dawn frowned, “Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault, your Professor should have given you one when you left.”

“Yeah, I know,” Estelle said, “It’s just… I dunno. I didn’t really leave on good terms. I’d rather not talk about it.”

Dawn just nodded, and a silence fell over the pair. In an effort to break it, Dawn suggested that they head to the local Pokemon center to get a room for the night.

 

|International News Network|

Reporter: We’re bringing you breaking news from Kanto! The Indigo League, assisted by a young boy from Pallet Town by the name of Red, has finally brought down Team Rocket! Apparently, the group’s leader, Gym Leader Giovanni, was defeated by Red, and the rest were captured by the Indigo League. Reports warn, though, of the remnants scattering across the world, and official notices have been filed to the relevant regions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, this is how you do that. Oh well. I'll fix one and two when I rewrite them.
> 
> Okay, but seriously, I'm astounded that you waded through that garbage. Kudos to you.
> 
> If you're here, you read last chapter's note. You know what I think, need, and want as of today.
> 
> Thank you for reading, and I hope you continue to do so.


	4. Estelle in the Big City

|Deciding to wait until the next day to bother with the pleasantries of Jubilife, Estelle and her new, surprisingly trusting friend Dawn head to the Pokemon Center…|

Estelle had never actually been in a Pokemon Center before now. It was wonderfully clean, with a few decorative plants and paintings hung up to alleviate that clinical feel. At the desk sat a cheerful woman with pink hair, tied in a bow- one of the many Nurse Joys, presumably. A quick request, and their pokemon were set in the machine together. There were only three of them, so it wasn’t really an issue. Another brief conversation, a thank-you, and they got a room to share with two others.

As it turned out, though, the Center was pretty vacant, which would be surprising if the Gym Challenge had started. That wouldn’t happen for another week or two, though, so until then Dawn and Estelle could wait and take advantage of that time to train their pokemon as much as they could. They’d also get a chance to sleep on a real, comfortable bed, which was more important to Estelle than anything else at the moment.

The room was surprisingly nice. It was small, but well-designed. Two bunk beds were on either side of the room, creating a sort of corridor down the center. At the far wall sat a squat, but sturdy-looking set of drawers, four in total, and each with a slot for a lock. Above that was a window, looking out at the amazingly carved streets of Jubilife City. It would be a pleasant place to come back to every night, and enter a wonderful state of rest. Which, again, Estelle was rather focused on.

Before that, though…

“Estelle, you’re dressed positively horrible. That jacket is tattered and old, and those jeans belong on a farmer, not a pretty lady like either of us,” Dawn admonished, “So we’re going into town tomorrow, to get you a better outfit.”

Estelle snorted, somewhat disoriented by the sudden insult, before dignifying that with a response. “With what money? Might I remind you, I need to buy Potions, status healers, traveling supplies, Pokeballs, and maybe a Revive or two.”

Dawn just laughed. “So we won’t spend much. Come on, at least get a skirt or something.”

“How about we do the important stuff first? If I have enough left over, I can go shopping then,” Estelle replied, too tired to really argue.

“Fine, fine, but don’t leave without me. Make sure to sleep well, ‘cause we’ve got an early start tomorrow!” Dawn’s cheeriness was not appreciated.

A grumbled goodnight from Estelle brought the day to a close. Pumpkaboo stubbornly slept under the bed rather than with anyone, and Meru sat next to the window, staring as always. Despite their odd attitudes, Meru was clearly relaxed, and Pumpkaboo seemed to be peeking out to make sure Estelle was okay. She was pleased with them, no matter how odd they might be. That feeling of warmth was just enough to send her over the edge into a deep slumber.

(-o-)

Poke. Poke. Poke.

“Okay, Meru, I’m up,” Estelle groaned, before rising up to get out of bed. Now that she had more energy, and wasn’t pressed with concern about her ID, she could tell she needed a shower. Standing up, and grabbing one of the towels hung by the door, she looked back to make sure all of her stuff was in place.

“What the- Meru, it’s three o’clock in the morning!”

The unblinking Gothita seemed full of mirth, despite not really changing its expression. Apparently, it had made a joke out of “early start.”

“Hilarious. Positively,” Estelle sneered, without any real malice.

(-o-)

Three hours later, a long-since-clean Estelle sat across from Dawn, in the cafeteria. Both girls ate the complimentary breakfast, a bowl of cereal, with relish, as they were hungry after managing to forget dinner in their excitement yesterday. Soon, though, breakfast was finished, and it was time for something Dawn was decidedly too into.

Shopping. Actually, Estelle kinda enjoyed it, too, but getting up this early was a bit much, so her enthusiasm was curbed. Still, it’d be good to get her primary concerns handled. After all, when you’re buying something that will never spoil, there’s no such thing as too early.

Dawn showed Estelle a few very important things. While nothing was free, showing your Trainer ID at a PokeMart earned you a seventy five percent discount on basic traveling supplies, like preserved food for humans and pokemon alike, bottled water, trainer bags, and sleeping bags. Estelle was particularly grateful for the last, as she’d spent a week sleeping on the ground already and had had enough. Regardless, the discount allowed Estelle to get several weeks’ worth of supplies for just a few hundred PokeDollars. That was cool. Not being allowed to have your pokemon out in a city was less cool, and Estelle was slightly annoyed with Jubilife for that, but bought the supplies and moved on.

When storing it all in her bag immediately caused it to be full, Dawn shot her a weird look.

“Just put it in the storage compartment. You’re not gonna need instant access to food,” she said.

“Storage compartment?” Estelle’s bag had nothing of the sort.  
Dawn just sighed.

(-o-)

A few minutes later, Estelle had donated her old bag to a charity. Her new one was bigger, sturdier, and not covered in dried egg goop. It wasn’t fancy, of course, but it had three storage compartments- one large one for clothes, and two smaller ones on the sides, for food and water- and a divider on the inside, allowing her to separate clothes and medicinal items. In short, a basic trainer’s bag. It had her new sleeping roll Estelle also had five potions, and one of each type of status heal. Revives were a bit too pricey, though, as after all her other purchases she was left with a surprising, but still modest, P1153 (the P2000 she’d gotten with her trainer’s license had supplied that).

Dawn had made a few purchases, as well, restocking Potions, food, and heals. Unfortunately, she had not forgotten her agreement with Estelle.

“Alright! To main street!” she cried, probably too loudly for seven something in the morning.

(-o-)

Jubilife’s main street was nothing compared to the markets of Slateport or Canalave, but it was still occupied with a decent variety of stores. Dawn seemed to know what she was doing, heading straight for a store creatively dubbed “Jubilife Boutique.”

Inside, Estelle saw a rather impressive selection of hats, skirts, socks, and all other garments. The only affordable thing she could find that she liked was a pair of white thigh-high socks.

“Dawn, this is all way too expensive,” she said, finding herself unexpectedly dismayed. A lot of the clothes were really stylish, or elegant.

Dawn nodded, but wasn’t discouraged yet. “Have you checked the sale rack? Sometimes they’ll put stuff from last season on there.”

Season? Estelle thought to herself, but she just followed Dawn without saying anything. Turns out, Dawn was right- the sale rack had a pink coat for P700, a simple lavender skirt for P300, some fancy slacks for P400, a set of basic black leggings for P150, and a nice-looking beanie for P100, and a long-sleeved blue sweater dress for P550.

Estelle went with the sweater dress and leggings. She’d read it in a book about vampire were-za-goons, or something, back in Hoenn.

“Alright, I’m done, Dawn,” Estelle called. Dawn glanced over, but went back to looking at the rack of skirts she was stood in front of. Estelle sighed; hopefully she could get a chance to actually train Pumpkaboo before long.

(-o-)

As it turned out, Dawn had plans for the day until lunch. Estelle ended up buying a simple green watch/compass, better for traveling than burying her nose in that map of hers. Dawn bought an entire outfit- basically, a differently-colored version of what she wore now. Estelle didn’t really see the point in that, but it was her money, and picking out the clothes was kinda fun anyways.

Lunch was at a cafe. Dawn insisted, calling the Pokemon Center “woefully inadequate,” and other such poetic insults. Estelle wasn’t going to go spending any more money today, though, and waved her off.

Dawn said she’d take the check for Estelle. Ten minutes later, they were seated across from each other in a cute, stone building near the edge of Jubilife.

After placing their orders, Estelle picking out the cheapest thing on the menu, a comfortable silence settled over the pair.

Well, comfortable for Estelle. Dawn seemed to feel the need to break it.

“Do you mind me asking where you’re from,” she said gingerly, “Or is that too invasive?”

“No,” Estelle said, “It’s fine. I’m from Hoenn, a small town called Littleroot. It’s a lot like Twinleaf, actually- a Lab, a few houses, and not much else. You had to go up to Oldale for any shopping you needed to do, and that was all done at a PokeMart.

It was peaceful, and honestly it wasn’t too bad of a town in and of itself. I really liked some of the people there, especially my friend, Mr. Briney…”

Estelle talked. She talked about herself, and her life (glossing over the nasty bits at home), and her friends. Her story, in a censored entirety, came out into the world. Rambling was something understandable for a young girl who has not been around anyone she could really talk to for over a month.

When she finally caught up to the present, Estelle realized that rambling was what she’d done.

“Ah, my apolo--”

“No, no, don’t worry about it,” Dawn cut her off, “It was clear that you had to do that.” She giggled, bringing a hand up to try to hide it and failing utterly. “You were really into it.”

“Don’t embarrass me in front of the waiter,” Estelle said, looking anywhere but Dawn’s face. If she did, the laughter welling up inside her might burst out, and that embarrassment would be even worse. Luckily for Estelle, Dawn complied, and went to work at eating her food. Estelle did too, feeling a bit guilty about essentially eating somebody else’s money.

Moments of conversation wormed their way into the space between bites, until they had finished eating. Dawn had paid the check and the duo was halfway to the training ground near Jubilife’s gate when her eyes opened wide.

“Oh, right! I totally forgot! Estelle, my mom used to be a Coordinator,” she started. Estelle nodded sagely, realizing why Dawn had so much money now. “She had this TM she got from a friend of hers, and she gave it to me. It was one of the first ones Silph Co. made reusable- Thunder Wave. Piplup can’t use it, but maybe one of your guys can.”

“You’re being incredibly nice to someone you just met. First lunch, and now this,” Estelle said. “What’s up with that?”

Dawn looked blank for a second. “Uh, I dunno. I guess I just kinda felt okay doing that? You seem really cool to me. You didn’t rub your victory in my face or anything.”

“Well of course not,” Estelle started, but Dawn wasn’t having it.

“No way! It took me three years to pass the Trainer Exam. Everyone else I fought either looked at me like I was stupid, for not being able to even score, or went further and rubbed it in,” the blue-haired teen exclaimed. “I know I’m not the best trainer, but they were all really rude. And when I pressed too hard or was awkward you were nice.”

Estelle shrugged and turned away; she had not thought anything special of it. Common decency, in Littleroot.

“So as my… oh god, this is embarrassing to actually put to words. My first friend since I was thirteen, I don’t mind,” Dawn coughed.

“No, don’t be embarrassed. I was only friends with Mr. Briney, remember? Nobody else took me seriously,” Estelle said, just as awkward.

Dawn changed the topic, “So… how about that TM?”

(-o-)

As it turned out, both Meru and Pumpkaboo could use Thunder Wave. Pumpkaboo had more trouble with it, and would have to work out the kinks, but it would probably be fine.

Now that we’re at the training grounds, I can finally stop with this emotional stuff and do what I’m here for, Estelle thought to herself.

Pumpkaboo was a physical fighter, as a species trait, but Estelle’s little friend was something of a runt. He couldn’t take hits very well, but he was quick on his stubby little feet and had picked up shadow-shifting very early, probably due to how dark his old home was. So, Estelle had him working on dodging with Piplup, who was working on actually hitting things with his attacks. Apparently, that Water Gun in the battle with Dawn was a bit lucky.

Meru was a lot stronger than Pumpkaboo or Piplup, as the battle prior to capturing the ghost-type had proved. So, Estelle wanted her to work on her technique. Confusion was good for lighter pokemon, but against a rock-type Meru would have a much harder time. Estelle wanted her to channel the psychic energy into a beam- Psybeam. It was a bit advanced, but they had time, and doing this would improve Meru’s endurance, as well as power.

Meru’s actual training consisted of trying to knock a particularly tall rock onto its side. Simple, but challenging if she wasn’t allowed to lift it.

Estelle herself had to watch Pumpkaboo. It was easily the weaker of her pokemon, lacking the weeks of training Meru had, but most likely had a few vicious habits from living in the wilds. She couldn’t be sure that the haunted gourd wouldn’t lash out at Piplup when it got hit.

Thankfully Pumpkaboo kept itself controlled. When Piplup’s Water Gun finally nailed it, after a few minutes of avoiding, Dawn cheered the penguin on. Estelle tried to console Pumpkaboo, but it looked more determined than defeated.

(-o-)

Training continued like that for the next few weeks. Dawn offered to take Estelle to lunch again, but on the premises of debt she was inclined to refuse. Hopefully, once the Gym Challenge started, Estelle could begin making some money.

Nights in the Pokemon Center were really quite pleasant with Dawn around. They talked for a few minutes before bed, as training mostly kept them separated during the day, each needing to tailor to their pokemon’s weaknesses.

Estelle found herself coming to quite like Dawn. Their first few days had been very awkward, born of a relative lack of intimacy for a long time, but they settled into being friends before too long. Estelle still had not talked about why she left, and Dawn had not really asked.

Pumpkaboo had improved quickly. It wasn’t on Meru’s level yet, but its ability to avoid attacks was much better. Estelle had it working on a combination of Thunder Wave and Astonish, but controlling both attacks was a time-consuming exercise for the little guy.

Meru almost had Psybeam down. It was still not powerful enough to really use in battle, but it had successfully knocked over the training rock. Meru was awfully pleased with herself, if the glint in her cerulean eyes was any indicator.

Piplup had done well, too. His Water Gun was more accurate and powerful than ever, and training had started bringing him the muscles of his physical-fighter evolution, Prinplup. That was a ways off, but for now Piplup could hold his own in melee combat.

All in all, it had been a fruitful week. But the Gym Challenge started soon, so Estelle and Dawn would have to say goodbye to Jubilife soon, and begin heading over to Oreburgh.

(-o-)

The journey through the tunnel of Route 203 was generally uneventful. The Gym Challenge began halfway through the journey, though, so trainers began challenging Estelle and Dawn.

Both of them held their own quite well, winning a nice eighty percent of the battles. Most of those wins were against kids who’d captured their first Geodude, but a win was money in Estelle’s pocket, so she didn’t really feel guilty. They lost when the occasional experienced trainer showed them what it meant to have earned all eight badges last season, those battles often warranting a rest period afterwards.

Wild pokemon didn’t really bother them. A few Geodude waved or scowled, but otherwise there wasn’t any interaction. The Zubat swarms were relatively used to humans, as this was the most traveled tunnel in Sinnoh, so there wasn’t any trouble on that front.

Traveling was pretty quiet, for the most part. Estelle worked on socializing Pumpkaboo, though she made little progress. Dawn seemed comfortable in the silence, for once, and they both just enjoyed each other’s company.

Two days later, they walked through the gates of Oreburgh City. It wasn’t as big as Jubilife, but since the Gym Challenge had started, it was far more important in the eyes of the new trainers. Roark was the newest Gym Leader, and used rock-type pokemon. The relative ease of getting Goldeen out of the lakes of nearby cities made him the most common first Gym to challenge.

Which explained the throngs of twelve-year-old children.

Estelle built up her mental defenses, in preparation for the worst part of being a trainer:

Snot-nosed brats.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is where people on FF.Net really started to pick it up. My views jumped by a large margin.
> 
> Hopefully, you guys are enjoying it more as well. As always, thanks for reading, and I hope you continue to do so.


	5. Oreburgh's Opening Act

|Arriving safely in Oreburgh, Dawn and Estelle are greeted with the sight of many more trainers than they anticipated. Hoping to get a bit lucky, they hurry to the Pokemon Center…|

The Oreburgh Pokemon Center was essentially the same as the one in Jubilife, though it was a bit more crowded. By which, the Center had instituted a few rules for housing: if you had a traveling partner of the same gender, share a bed with them. Anybody who had a medical excuse was exempt, and anyone without a medical excuse or comrade would be sleeping with a stranger until the crowds thinned.

That did not bother Estelle much, but Dawn seemed a bit adverse to the idea.

“Man, come on,” she grumbled, “Why are there so many people here, anyways? I know this is the place to start, but this seems excessive.”

A nearby trainer answered. “Apparently, they’re here because Roark announced that the first person to ‘truly impress’ him would get a prize. I hadn’t heard anything of it, but, you know how it is,” she bubbled.

Estelle looked the girl over before responding. Wavy brown hair, brown eyes, pink sweater. Enough to identify her later, if needed. “Thanks,” Estelle began, “Miss… ?”

“Oh, right,” she laughed, “It’s Heather. Nice to meet you! What are your names?”

Dawn and Estelle introduced themselves briefly. Estelle noted that Dawn did not seem to approve of the eternal smile on their new acquaintance’s face, but just put it down to irritation with the situation as a whole.

(-o-)

After a few minutes, Dawn and Estelle got their room key, with a bed number attached. Room 214, bed 3. The duo wandered around until they found it, and entered to judge just how crowded it would be.

Overall, it was pretty annoying, but not the worst thing ever. As it turned out, Bed 3 was a top bunk, and beneath them Heather shared a bed with a blonde. A brief hello constituted the reintroduction, and afterwards Dawn and Estelle got to work settling in. With how long the lines looked to be, it was going to be quite some time before Roark could battle either of them.

That process finished quickly, and Estelle suggested that they go train until the big day.

“Yeah, that seems like a great idea,” Dawn agreed cheerfully.

“Wait,” Heather interjected, “Can I come along? I wanna train my Skorupi some, and I figure having outsi-”

Dawn cut her off, “I’d really rather you didn’t. I prefer my training be private.”

Estelle shot her a confused look, before saying, “I think it’s fine. It’s not like anything we do is beyond the basics yet.” She had not heard anything about this before, and kinda felt bad if she had been forcing Dawn to train in public when she did not wish to.

Heather looked between the two girls, trying to figure out which response was the real one.

Dawn sighed, “Fine, whatever. I don’t care.” Estelle would have to deal with that the next time she could catch Dawn in private, but it worked for now. Actually, Estelle really wanted Heather to come along after hearing she had a Skorupi. While it wouldn’t do much for Meru, Pumpkaboo could benefit from learning to deal with poison-types.

The training field was actually in a quarry, near the local mine. The quarry had been abandoned, but Roark repurposed it into a rugged training center. The place had a large, flat area at the bottom, and some layered slopes along the sides. It was occupied, but not overrun, and most occupants appeared to be powerful trainers if the many evolved pokemon were a way to judge.

Estelle found a quiet corner for her group, and there she began training. Heather was happy to have Skorupi train with Pumpkaboo, as the little blue pokemon was apparently a bit slow and could use practice against quick opponents. Dawn seemed irritated, but agreed to have Piplup spar with Meru.

Meru’s main training, now, was to effectively use Light Screen and Reflect. The shields were basic techniques for any psychic type, but Meru had yet to use any of them. Hopefully practice with Piplup could accelerate that process. Another benefit of having Meru and Piplup spar was that Estelle could get Dawn to talk to her about whatever was bugging her.

“Hey, I’m sorry if I annoyed you earlier,” the green-eyed girl apologized.

Dawn frowned, “No, don’t apologize. I was pretty irritable.”

Estelle noted that that was definitely not the whole story, and asked on. “Why? Was it the Pokemon Center ordeal? I admit, I’m not too pleased about losing bed space, either.”

“Something like that,” Dawn said, “But… I honestly don’t like that Heather girl. She’s too hyper, and so sweet that it’s gotta be fake.”

“Maybe you could have a little more faith in her. I mean, look, she’s even taking care of Pumpkaboo. That’s impressive, considering the antisocial tendencies of my little fruit,” Estelle countered.

With a sigh, the blue-haired girl relented, “Yeah, fine. I guess I’m just being rude.”

Estelle did not say anything to that, instead wondering to herself about where all of this was coming from. It’s not like Heather was even particularly nice or mean to either of us before now. It was probably irrelevant in the long run anyway, so Estelle got back to trying to coach Meru on Reflect.

(-o-)

It was their first night in Oreburgh now, and the slightly uncomfortable prospect of sharing a bed had reared its ugly head. Though Dawn and Estelle were fast friends, they’d only known each other for a short while.

“So… do you want the wall or the open end?” Dawn asked.

Estelle weighed her options. On one hand, sleeping by the wall felt more secure. On the other, sleeping on the edge would give one more space. Estelle was a lot shorter than Dawn, so she’d probably take the wall.

Estelle glanced at Dawn, whose glittering cerulean marbles gazed in her direction, waiting for a decision. How poetic of me, Estelle thought dryly, before stating her choice.

Dawn nodded, and replied, “Well, I’m gonna go brush my teeth. I’ll be right back, try to be in bed by then so we don’t block the room.”

Estelle climbed the short ladder, careful not to hit her head, and went to lay down, when she realized something terrible:

There was only one pillow.

When Dawn returned, Estelle shared the grave news. Dawn’s face matched Estelle’s own look of dread. Both girls had been sleeping without pillows for far too long (two days was unexcusable, and Estelle already had plans to purchase a pillow as soon as possible), and neither would give it up. Both of them knew that, and both of them knew that left only one option: sharing.

It was only exacerbating the effects of sharing a bed, but the creature comforts they got in exchange were, in their minds, more than worth it.

(-o-)  
Most likely, Estelle pondered the next morning, Dawn’s arms wrapped around her chest, that’s how this situation came about.

(-o-)

Later that day, it was time for breakfast. The cafeteria was really quite crowded, so Dawn and Estelle nabbed their complementary cereal and went outside, to sit in relative peace and eat.

“Man, I was surprised by how well I slept,” Dawn commented, “I had a nice dream and everything.”

“Really? What about,” inquired her auburn friend. It’ll be interesting to see what she says, given that position she had me in.

Dawn turned away, saying, “I don’t… uh, remember.”

“Convincing. You really have me fooled, Dawn. Come on, tell me!” Estelle pried.

“Alright, fine. I can’t remember the specifics, but I had a dream about Mareep and Cottonee,” admitted the other trainer.

Estelle laughed, before beginning to explain why that was funny.

(-o-)

A number of days later, during which almost nothing happened, they arrived at the local Gym.

It was a pretty big building. Not the biggest Estelle had ever seen, but since she had never laid eyes upon Canalave’s Gym, it was mighty impressive. The building’s exterior was fairly average, though it did have a brown roof.

It was the interior that was awesome. Roark stood on top of a huge pillar of stone, standing in front of a wide battlefield. The battle field was rough, craggy, and even had a miniature valley in the center.

Across from Roark, a rather weathered, heavyset man recalled his Geodude with a frown.

“A good effort! But don’t let Geodude get cornered like that,” Roark called out to him as he left.

Hopping down, he took big strides over to Dawn and Estelle. He was powerfully built, but retained a lithe agility that was not a common sight amongst Rock-Type trainers. Roark introduced himself, before saying, “So, are you here to battle?”

The girls nodded in unison, a look of steely determination crossing their faces.

“I’ll go first,” Dawn announced bravely. Roark agreed, and with that, each trainer took their place, while Estelle moved to go watch.

“How many pokemon do you have?” Roark called. Dawn informed him, and then the referee began calling out the rules.

“This will be a one-on-one battle. The first pokemon to be recalled or knocked unconscious will be the loser. Gym Leader Roark will release first,” he stated officially.

“Onix, go,” Roark said mildly.

“Piplup, you’re up!” Dawn responded, with fire in her voice.

With a hum and a flash, purple barriers flickered into existence before fading away. The protection they offered would remain even if their color did not. After all, an errant attack from a pokemon could kill somebody at this level.

Onix roared at the tiny blue pokemon. Piplup tried to take it down with Water Gun but its valiant efforts were to little effect. Moments later, he narrowly avoided Onix’s massive head saving it quite a bit of injury. Piplup took the second in which Onix was removing its head from the earth to fire a Water Gun right at its eyes. Amazingly, it connected, though if anything Onix just seemed angry now. Onix channeled that anger into a powerful tail strike that sent Piplup flying. Dawn recalled him before any harm could come bear during an impact.

“Your Piplup is strong,” Roark observed, “And has good instincts, but you need to work on getting some more techniques. Water Gun is one of the weakest water-type moves available, and doesn’t really work against armored targets, type advantage or not.”

“Alright, next!” the referee shouted.

Dawn dejectedly stepped away from the field. She looked sour, but silently accepted Estelle’s hand on her shoulder, and stayed to watch her match.

“Same rules as before, I know you heard them,” the referee said loudly.

“Go, Rampardos!” Roark called. Estelle’s eyes widened at that, but she stuck to her plan.

“Meru, I choose you!” she responded.

“Iron Head! Finish this quickly, don’t let it past your armor,” Roark shouted.

“Psybeam! Don’t bother with shields,” Estelle countered, “And use that thing we worked on yesterday!”

Meru nodded, eyes glowing bright as a lance of psychic energy connected with the charging Rampardos. It did not do amazing damage, but the Rampardos slowed, and never came up to the initial speed it had. Meru got in another glancing blow, before Iron Head connected and sent her flying. When she impacted, tears flowed from her huge, blue eyes, and a sad, wailing wee-woo crushed the hearts of all her listeners. Except, apparently, Rampardos, who simply charged at her, glad to take the opportunity to crush Meru underfoot.

With that in mind, it was quite shocking to anyone watching, including Roark, when Meru fired a Psybeam right into Rampardos’ feet, before letting up the act. She slammed another Psybeam into the ancient, hard-headed pokemon.

“Nice one,” Roark called, “I’ll admit that you made me complacent. But don’t expect to win!”

Meru sent more Psybeams Rampardos’ way, but the Rock-type was now seemingly unfazed by the assault, blind fury being a hell of an anesthetic. Meru’s courage did not do much for her when a furious Take Down sent her careening into the barriers.

She was battered and bruised, but not broken. The tiny Psychic-type staggered to her feet and met the follow-up of Rampardos head on, with another Psybeam. Unfortunately, nothing she could do had enough damage output to take down the juggernaut, and the second hit was enough to put Meru out of action.

“Great job, Meru,” Estelle called, returning Meru to her Pokeball for healing. “Come back. Roark, I technically have another pokemon, but it’s still too young to fight. That’s your victory.”

Roark laughed, “Of course it is! I’ve been training for years. Your job wasn’t to beat me, it was to impress me. It’s been a long time since anyone got Rampardos enraged like that. You get two things from me today,” he informed her, walking over confidently.

Roark smiled. “As the first person of the Gym Challenge to approach me with tactics, not an overwhelming type advantage or sheer brute force, I have to say I’m impressed. That’s what we of the Gyms really look for- a trainer with skill, with cunning.”

Estelle laughed it off, turning pink and saying, “Nah, it’s not that cool. Fake Tears was supposed to make Rampardos hesitate, not charge in like that. I forgot it was a fossil pokemon.”

“That’s something that comes with experience. You don’t even have one badge yet, but you’re already trying to get in my head, and you nearly took down a Rampardos with a first-stage pokemon,” the big miner complimented, “So I think you’ve more than earned these.”

He held out a gloved hand. On Roark’s palm rested a gently glowing, smooth, teal stone, alongside a brown badge.

Estelle stared in awe, gingerly taking the two items. Her first badge, right alongside the most valuable thing she had ever held, behind Dawn’s PokeDex.

“Really!? I can’t believe it,” Estelle stammered, “You’re really giving me these?”

“Of course! I already did, it’s not like I’m gonna take them away,” Roark said.

So it was true, then. Estelle had made it. She and Meru had earned this badge. The dull brown seemed to hold a certain power, one that made Estelle close her hand around the small piece of metal.

“Thanks, Mr. Roark,” Estelle said.

(-o-)

“I can’t believe you got a badge and I didn’t! Boo, hiss, what a ripoff,” Dawn seethed humorously.

Estelle just snorted, “It’s your fault for not even planning. Every official battle is something you can plan for.” It was true- as the challenger, you could plan as long as you liked, because the battle wouldn’t start until you opted to begin it. As trainers challenging Gym Masters, planning was very easy; information on the teams of various Gym Trainers was quite public, after all.

“Think you could help me come up with a plan? I’ve never really done that before,” Dawn asked.

“I hadn’t either,” Estelle replied, “And my plan fell apart, but sure, why not. It’ll be fun.”

They walked in silence for a bit. The wait for Estelle and Dawn’s battles to start had been quite long, and it was almost evening again, so they really ought to head back to the Pokemon Center. On the bright side, a lot of trainers had left Oreburgh in favor of challenging Gardenia- Roark had apparently buffed up his basic team or switched to his real one, tired of being thought of as the “first Gym.”

“So, Dawn, what are you thinking about aiming for your second Pokemon to be?” Estelle inquired of the blue-haired girl.

“I dunno yet,” she responded, “But a ground-type or a fire-type would be best.”

Estelle nodded, “We’re right by the mine, and although they are rare, and still pretty weak, I know there are Onix in there. I could hear them at the training field. No mistaking the sound of something that big tunneling, right?”

“An Onix would be cool, but I’m worried about my ability to control it,” Dawn replied.

“I know! After you get your badge, we can talk to Roark about it. I don’t think he’ll have time to train us, per se, but he could spare a few words of wisdom about Onix,” Estelle suggested, “But before that, you need to beat him.”

“Yeah. Let’s get planning.”

\--

|Sinnoh News Radio|

And here’s… me! With the news. Wake up, children, the League has a giant truck full 'o Miltank, and they've been spoon-feeding you the bullshit. Remember how we heard that news story about Rocket being scattered? That was true. Remember how they told us it was all gonna be a-okay? That was a lie. Good golly, Holly. This is the worst thing to happen to our region since the GTS accidentally instituted their mandatory "Bidoof only" trade code. All I can say is, if you’re a powerful trainer, and you’re still listenin’ to old Three-ka-chu, then please. Hear me out and believe.

Sinnoh is in danger, and it needs YOUR help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rereading this, I want to die. There's a river not too far from my house.
> 
> Ahem. Anyways, I particularly despise this chapter. Jesus.
> 
> Thanks for clawing your way down here. I hope you can continue to show this awesome willpower and determination.
> 
> P.S. I'll be disappointed in anyone who fails to know where Three-ka-chu is from.


	6. Onix A and Onix B

Estelle sprinted down a long, dark, and rocky hallway. Dawn trailed behind her, holding Piplup in her arms, the poor penguin terribly wounded. Meru and Pumpkaboo were in a similar state, though Pumpkaboo had already shadow-stepped out of the structure from which they made their furious exit.

Behind Estelle, something roared angrily, and a loud, dangerous rumble started getting closer.

|Earlier that day…|

Dawn gripped Piplup’s Pokeball tightly. A bead of sweat dripped down her brow- she was not going to lose again.

Remember the plan, Dawn, she thought, Remember the plan.

The referee called out the rules- same as last time. Dawn gulped, but calmed when Roark released Onix again. As she and Estelle had correctly assumed, he had only used Rampardos because Onix was injured- which meant he would be likely to use it again.

“Go, Piplup!” Dawn shouted, sending her only Pokemon out into the battlefield. The blue penguin landed with a thump, and glared up at the stone snake who had so utterly defeated it last time.

Onix moved first, charging for Piplup without even needing a command. It shook Piplup and Dawn with a guttural roar, but the much smaller water-type stood its ground.

“Alright, Piplup, hose everything down,” Dawn said, giving the first command in her plan.

Piplup chose to act instead of acknowledge, spraying his Water Gun wide, harmless to any Pokemon, even a Fire-type. The water splashed across half of the field before Onix forced Piplup to dodge.

When that time came, Piplup jumped up onto the giant rocky snake, instead of going around. The execution was not perfect, but it was workable, and Piplup managed to roll with the rough landing, avoiding most of the damage. He dashed down is back, hopping off once Onix started shaking and got Roark’s side of the field soaked as well.

“Alright, Piplup, use Mud Slap!” Dawn shouted. Piplup shot an incredibly forceful, but still somewhat wide-angled Water Gun at the ground in front of Onix. The softened, muddy earth easily followed Piplup’s command, spraying up into Onix’s eyes, blinding the larger Pokemon.

“Alright, now use Water Pulse!” Dawn shouted, really into the battle. The plan, and technique training, they had spent the last days on had culminated in this moment.

But Onix was not a beginner, and had quickly cleared up its vision. It began charging at Piplup as soon as it had a rough idea of its location- after all, it was smart enough to know that a Water Pulse would take out even a hardened ground/rock type.

In addition, Piplup was new to Water Pulse, so it had a pretty long windup. That was why the plan was necessary- Onix just would not give Piplup enough time otherwise.

Even with the distraction, Onix managed to hit Piplup while the Water Pulse was charging. Luckily for Dawn, Onix was still somewhat blinded and only glanced her little Pokemon. Piplup kept its focus just well enough to launch a wobbly Water Pulse straight into Onix’s nearest body part- the head.

Onix seemed to be getting up, but Piplup was not one to leave something half-finished, and he jumped onto the back of the giant snake, where he launched a full-power Water Gun right into its head. The sheer force sent the Onix crashing to the ground.

Onix didn’t get up from its rough impact with the ground.

(-o-)

“Wow, you guys sure like brute force,” Roark said, “As that Water Pulse shows. Piplup has learned it pretty early, and that Gothita almost got my third strongest pokemon down with Psybeam, of all things. You could use some work on tactics, though- even though I gave you that award for tactics, it was mostly for the potential. Keep up with th…” He began to give what was probably a long speech of important advice to the two girls.

Neither was really listening. Dawn was reverently staring at her Coal badge, and Estelle had an odd expression on her face. It belied her inner joy for her friend, her pride, and an unidentifiable warmth in her chest as she looked at her friend’s smiling face.

Roark snorted, evidently having given up on whatever he was going to tell them.

“Oh, yeah, Mr. Roark,” Dawn suddenly remembered, “I was hoping to catch an Onix. The problem is that I don’t know much about training them. Would you have any advice?”

Roark rubbed his chin. “Hmm. Maybe. Come back in a few days and I’ll have typed up a little manual for you. How’s that sound? There’s not a ton of stuff, but there’s enough that having it all written down will help.”

Dawn put a determined look on her face, saying, “Alright. I’ll have captured an Onix by then for sure!” Estelle nodded her agreement, but did not intrude into the conversation.

Roark warned them that the Onix in the cave would be much younger and smaller than his, as they had not been trained.

“Of course,” he warned, “You’ll need to be careful still. Small and harmless are not the same thing.”

The girls nodded seriously.

(-o-)

Estelle had not been disregarding Roark, but she had made the mistake of assuming that if Piplup could take his Onix it could take any wild Onix.

It became clear to her that Roark had been holding back when the Onix smashed Piplup into the nearest wall of the mine with a sickening crunch. Piplup had tried the Mud Slap technique but the beast had not given him time to set up. It was on the note of Onix smacking Piplup back to Dawn that Estelle tried to help.

Meru seemed to know what she was thinking, and with a glance her way sent a Psybeam straight into the Onix. Pumpkaboo tried to hit it by popping in and out of the shadows, but the armor of the great beast was too much for him, and thus Pumpkaboo was rendered ineffectual. The little fruit took one hit from Onix’s tail and disappeared.

The ever-dedicated Meru kept up her Psybeams during this time, but was quickly tiring. Onix turned its attention to her, now that the melee support of Estelle’s duo was dealt with. A situation much like that of the battle against Rampardos was reenacted, but Onix got to Meru a lot quicker. It nailed the poor Gothita and sent her careening into the dark, from which Estelle returned her.

With their friends and fighters defeated, Dawn and Estelle turned tail and ran.

(-o-)

“Oh, man, Dawn, this was such a bad idea,” Estelle puffed as they neared the exit.

Dawn did not bother wasting precious air replying- she was in much worse shape than the fit Estelle. However, she was not so winded that she could not think. They had managed to put some space between them and Onix, due to the snake turning very quickly but actually traversing quite slowly. Dawn stopped, readied a Pokeball, and turned to the tunnel.

Onix rushed around the corner, mouth shut and eyes glittering in stark fury. Dawn’s throw caught it right between said glittering, furious eyes, and the flash of red was all the signal Dawn needed to start running again- hopefully the Pokeball would buy them some time.

Estelle broke into the open air, and immediately turned away from the exit and put a few yards between it and her. She had heard Dawn stop, but had no time to do anything about it until now.

“Dawn! Get the hell out of there!” she called, genuinely scared for the first time. If Dawn died…

Well, it was irrelevant. The beautiful, blue-haired teen strutted out of the mine, Pokeball in hand.

“First try,” Dawn said with a wink and smile. Estelle nearly hit her for that.

(-o-)

“...and that’s why we haven’t let it out yet. I know they don’t feel the passage of time in Pokeballs, but I still feel bad, you know?”

Dawn was explaining the situation to Roark, who looked somewhat exasperated. Meru, who had been given the okay for release by Roark, was staring at his collection of rare stones from the mine. Estelle was right next to Dawn, the duo waiting for Roark’s reply.

“I can’t believe you two. That was incredibly dangerous, and incredibly lucky. Why would you go into a nest of snakes that are bigger than you in every way? What possessed you to do that? I’ll still help you train, but you really need to read up on a Pokemon before you go trying to find it in its natural habitat. Remember, even if your Pokemon are friendly, the wild ones really aren’t,” the big man scolded, “For that, and the nature of the Onix you caught, I should really make you release it back into the wild.

“But, still, I made the damn book and everything, and you did manage to catch one. So here you go, a beginner’s guide to raising an Onix, thus far untitled,” he added.

Dawn sheepishly nodded her thanks, and Estelle spoke for the both of them when she said, “We’ll be a lot more careful in the future. Nobody wants to get hurt, after all.”

Still, it would be good to have such a durable Pokemon as Onix on their team. It would serve the dual role of physical damage dealer and resistant support fighter. Dawn had no idea, though, about Onix itself. She sincerely hoped it would get along with their teams, after the thrashing they had received at its hands.

(-o-)

Onix appeared in a red glow. Looking closely at it, it was only about twenty feet long, and four feet thick. Overall, a pretty small specimen for its species, which seemed to imply youth. However, its attitude did not match its body. The snake instantly roared at Dawn and Estelle, to which Dawn replied by simply returning it. This process repeated until Onix simply stared at them, rather than roaring.

Step one of Roark’s Guide to an Onix: Breaking It In, begin.

“So, Onix. I’m a trainer- I don’t know if you know what that means, but for now you’ll be traveling with me,” Dawn said.

Onix coiled a bit tighter and hissed, but did not dissent otherwise.

“I’m planning to make you stronger.”

Onix picked up its head, now really paying attention to Dawn.

“I’ll teach you new skills and techniques.”

Onix cocked its head, intrigued.

“All you have to do is come with me, and follow my commands. If you can do that, nod. Otherwise, just shake your head and I’ll send you back home,” Dawn finished, tense in waiting for Onix’s reply.

The big gray Pokemon considered it for a moment before nodding hesitantly. Rather than running up and hugging it, Dawn bowed to it and said, “Thank you for accepting my request. I’m going to return you now- put you back in the ball. Is that okay?”

Onix retreated back into its coils slightly, but nodded. Apparently the big snake was averse to the Pokeball, but it was getting late and the girls needed to return to the Pokemon Center before too much longer.

Dawn looked to Estelle, very pleased with herself. “We did it! And it’s all thanks to your idea of asking Roark. Thanks!” The girl launched herself into a hug around a very confused, but somewhat flattered Estelle.

Estelle wrapped her arms around Dawn in return, who had not expected to find that they were stronger and firmer than one might expect on a girl of Estelle’s diminutive stature.

“Hey, you must be pretty strong,” Dawn said, bringing her arms in between the two of them to poke Estelle’s stomach. Her fingers hit muscle very, very quickly. “Whoa,” she added, “Do you have abs? That’s kinda impressive.”

Estelle pulled back very quickly, much to Dawn’s surprise. “Don’t do that all of a sudden!” she snapped.

It was quiet for a moment.

Estelle broke the silence with, “Did you really think it was cool?” Her face was turned away from Dawn, and the shadows made reading body language harder than it should be.

Dawn would never lie to her friend, especially not right after said friend helped her out.

“Yeah,” she said, “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”

Estelle shifted slightly in the darkness, but did not say anything. For a while they stood there, Sinnoh native and Hoenn Islander.

“...Estelle? I think we should head back,” Dawn tentatively broke the silence.

After a few more moments, Estelle agreed, and they headed back to the Pokemon Center. The walk back was very quiet, with no real discussion.

Dawn was having a hard time figuring out why Estelle had done what she did. They slept together every night, and other than the closeness Dawn could not figure out what could have caused such a visceral reaction.

She took a moment to look at Estelle. Really look at her.

Estelle was short, that much was obvious. She had the dark skin of native Hoenn Islanders, as well as the small nose and large eyebrows typical to her race. Estelle’s bright hair was roughly cut and somewhat poorly cared for (Dawn would need to talk to her about that), but it still looked alright on her. Her eyes, though, were what really made her pretty. They shone brightly on her face, splashes of cool green on the rich warm tones of her skin and hair. The muscles of a worker were only noticeable if you looked closely, but showed themselves in the controlled, balanced motions Estelle walked with.

But right now, none of that was what Dawn noticed. She saw her friend slouched, flushed, and shivering on a warm night. It looked like she was sick or feverish, but she had not been warm to the touch earlier. Dawn was pretty concerned, but she did not know what she could do- the girl had left her no clues. If she wanted to help, she would have to ask.

“Hey, Estelle, what’s wrong?” Dawn barely dared to broach the subject, given how volatile Estelle had just been, but there was nothing for it.

Estelle laughed. “There’s nothing wrong with me,” she said, adding something under her breath that Dawn could almost hear.

“What?”

Estelle turned a bit redder, saying, “You heard…? Nevermind, don’t worry about it. It’s not anything that matters.” The last sentence sounded a bit forced.

“C’mon, Estelle, you can tell me. There’s nobody awake right now,” Dawn begged. It was true- they were at the Pokemon Center and it was almost one in the morning.

“...fine,” Estelle said weakly. It seemed to Dawn that she only agreed due to her willpower being sapped by exhaustion. Admittedly, Dawn was only asking because her barriers were lowered by that same force.

“I said, it’s basically the opposite. Nothing bad happened to make me like this, or cause that reaction,” she gestured to herself, “but rather, something good.”

Dawn blinked. That was not quite what she had been anticipating. Exhaustion clouded her mind, though, and she could not properly make sense of the admission.

“That’s good, then. We should probably get to bed,” she chose to say instead of reacting. Estelle just nodded.

That night, Dawn had a hard time going to sleep. As usual, and in the fashion of the majority of the female trainers she had seen, she made skin contact with Estelle. For some reason, that mattered a little more than it had last night.

|ssZZin--h --ews Ra--o|

Th-- ...ka-chu, with so… --d news. The cit… --burgh has sent out em…

[Long period of static]

\--ast night, and it see… --zens have been wound… --areful, and avoid anyone in silv…

Nurse Joy clicked off the TV, suddenly confused. She had been listening to SNR when, out of the blue, the radio’s connection dropped. The machine appeared to be in working order. Then, a few hours later, she had heard this. Concerningly, no messages from the Gym or OPD had come through.

She triggered the release for the security pokemon. A Sudowoodo took up a disguise as a potted plant by the door, and two other pokemon took their positions by the Nurse’s desk. One was a Machoke, and he stood stoically at her right, while the other was a determined-looking Toxicroak.

With communications down, and what appeared to be wounded citizens, Nurse Joy would spare no precaution tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fight scene is marginally improved! Hooray!
> 
> I think this chapter is better. A little. Some. Kinda. In a few ways.
> 
> Thanks to my precious few readers who made it all the way here. I hope you can continue to display this fortitude, and are brave enough to drop a comment. See you around.


	7. Oreburgh and the Silverknight Coalition

|Rather than waking up peacefully this morning, our heroes are shocked into awareness by the Pokemon Center emergency alarms…|

Blatt.

Blatt.

Blatt.

The world flashed red around Estelle and Dawn, who awoke very groggy and confused. They were disoriented and exhausted, having only been allowed a few hours of sleep.

That disorientation faded quickly when they woke up enough to understand what they were hearing. Trainers all over the Oreburgh Pokemon Center scrambled to release their pokemon, slap awake any heavy sleepers, and escape through the emergency exits. Estelle and Dawn reacted in an almost identical manner, for they had to keep Onix in her- as Roark had told them- Pokeball while indoors. The two young women stumbled outside behind and ahead of dozens of trainers and pokemon, and beside Meru, Pumpkaboo, and Piplup.

All of them were positively stunned by the display in the streets.

The buildings near the North Gate had been battered, burned, frozen, shocked, and weathered by battles. That much was clear from where they stood. Out from the streets in that direction flashed brilliant lights, and occasionally beams of gold, white, or silver would flash into the sky. A loud boom could be heard periodically.

Between the trainers and the roads to the North Gate stood a barricade. It was essentially a stone wall, with a wide, flat stone wall behind that, for people to stand on. A group of exhausted-looking Geodude rested nearby, presumably the beings that created the defense.

The barricades were positioned to keep whatever fighting was going on in the northern part of the city where it was. Several officers manned the barriers, with Luxray at their side. Police Staraptors, identifiable by their blue scarves, circled above, occasionally darting down to attack something or relay information.

The small army of trainers looked on in wonder as a massive, nearly-black Onix, accompanied by what appeared to be the one Piplup had fought, barreled from a street to the left towards the epicenter of the fighting. Behind it, Roark rode his Rampardos into battle, alongside a Geodude. Two lumps of dirt moved right beside the trio, presumably some of Roark’s pokemon that Dawn and Estelle had not seen.

It was at this point that Nurse Joy started calling, “Hey! In groups of five, I want you kids filing out through the Oreburgh Gate tunnel. Youngest first, okay?”

Quickly, all of the smallest kids, the ones with nothing but their Shinx they had had from birth, or the like, ran up to Nurse Joy and the Machoke accompanying her. Everyone else made the mass of people into, more or less, a line.

At the back, Dawn and Estelle waited nervously. They had been pushed to be very close to the barricade, from which the Luxray had begun firing various electric-type attacks. Whatever was attacking the city drew near, apparently.

Estelle tried to control her breathing. The current situation was stressful, for the obvious reasons. Coming from Littleroot had not prepared her for the massive battle in any way. Dawn seemed a bit unnerved, but was nowhere near as bad as her foreign friend.

“Hey, Estelle, it’ll be fine. This sort of thing just happens sometimes here in Sinnoh- we had Team Galactic a few years ago, and they were much worse than whatever is doing this,” Dawn soothed. It was true- Team Galactic had somehow managed to summon the ancient gods of Sinnoh, and even more impressively, the young Platinum had kicked them back to their own dimension.

The girl from their room, Heather, had managed to find her way over to them. Being one of the oldest trainers present, at 15 she was not giving up an early escape by doing this.

“Hey, guys,” Heather said, “Did you hear? Apparently the radios are down.”

Estelle blinked in surprise. “What?” she asked, “Really? I had no idea.” Dawn nodded, being in a similar situation.

“Yeah, there’s some sort of electric field they’re using to short out any walkie-talkies,” Heather said.

Dawn quirked an eyebrow, saying, “Where’d you hear that? Don’t people normally just use some sort of jammer?”

Heather nodded. “Yes, but my Bidoof’s hair was even more on end than usual, and Skorupi was bugged by the field. He’s a sensitive little guy.”

Estelle shook her head, “I think that’s most likely just due to how many police officers use Luxray. Those electric attacks would build up ozone and leave the air charged.”

Their debate was interrupted then, by a loud bang as something crashed into something else. The officers on the barricade, now dozens of meters behind them while they progressed towards the cave, began shouting hysterically.

Meru, who had been released since Estelle awoke, started tugging on the traveling pants she’d donned in a hurry. Estelle looked back at the barricade.

Bang! Something crashed into it, actually cracking the multiple-feet-thick stone in places. Electric attacks lanced down over the barricade, and the blades of Air Cutters slammed down into a similar location.

They were almost at the tunnel now.

More cracks appeared with the now-incessant banging. A Police Luxray leapt up onto the top wall to get a better shot, and was immediately hit by a flash of light in the shape of a beam.

Flash Cannon, Estelle recognized. It was a high-skill Steel move, one not often seen outside of specialist battles. Meru and Pumpkaboo, the latter of which had finally recovered from how loud it was, readied themselves.

Nurse Joy was getting ready to wave them in when the barricade collapsed.

Collapsed is understating it, really. The fortification exploded towards the trainers, a few of the smaller rocks reaching their feet. Police, Luxray and human alike, were launched backwards, some hitting the ground very hard. The cause of the explosion was revealed when several Aron, followed by a large man, charged in the trainers’ direction.

Estelle ordered Pumpkaboo to stay back. The young pumpkin would be unable to do much against the Steel and Rock types, as its grass-typing did it poorly in this situation.

Meru would not be much use, either, as her psychic abilities were not yet developed enough to be able to lift or push the extremely heavy Steel types yet, which extended to Aron. Still, the Psybeams she launched occasionally would cause an Aron to trip up, allowing her to support the other trainers in battle.

Speaking of which, one of the benefits of having all the older trainers at the back was that, for the most part, they were more experienced. Several exotic Pokemon, from one young man’s Glaceon to another’s Hawlucha, evolved pokemon like the Drapion and Infernape, and just flat out skilled trainers really helped defend the group. The Aron were kicked around, pummeled, and generally beaten.

What surprised everyone was the man.

He was not a big man, or a scary man, or even a particularly strong man. He wore armor of a strange, bluish steel, designed in the heavy plate fashion of Kalos’ ancient warriors. The sword he, oddly enough, brandished, appeared to be of a similar make, long and triangular, also crafted from that odd steel.

What the man lacked in imposition, size, and power, he made up for in skill. The man fought alongside his team, in furious melee with beasts much larger than he. His sword sliced at the Drapion’s armor, and parried Infernape and Hawlucha’s blows. Amazingly, he managed to start pushing the pokemon back. Drapion was wary of more cuts, and Infernape and Hawlucha could not get close without taking serious wounds, as their present state showed.

The group of Aron had moved to keep Glaceon engaged, not allowing the support fighter to get the man off of his feet. Nearby, Heather’s team, excluding Gliscor, was being returned. Gliscor rested heavily beside her. The Machoke had gone down to the Aron long ago, and still lay unconscious.

The man ducked a swing from Infernape and rammed his sword into the unfortunate Pokemon, who promptly disappeared in a flash of red light.

Meru and Pumpkaboo looked to Estelle for instructions.

The helmeted human turned away from Drapion’s crushing blow, and speared its arm. Drapion stood firm, slamming an arm into the person, but his armor held up, amazingly enough. The big purple Pokemon seemed surprised too, but not as surprised as when the human’s blade ran him through. Drapion was recalled with a cry of terror and roar of agony.

During all of this, the fighter managed to duck and weave his way through all of Hawlucha’s assault. Now unimpaired, he turned to begin attacking the small bird.

Estelle stood frozen, unable to think or move. She had never had any training for this situation, to see such a brutal series of stabbings. It was Dawn who reacted first, her time in the Trainer School and the big, mildly dangerous city of Jubilife giving her an advantage..

Now, normally one does not release Onix in the city, as they cause a lot of collateral damage. Roark had showed why earlier, his traversal leaving huge gouges in the street that were clearly visible, even hundreds of meters away.

Dawn decided that the circumstances called for it. Onix roared angrily, looking around for its foe. Piplup tried to match its battle cry.

“Alright, Piplup, go help Glaceon with those Aron! Water Pulse from back here, then get closer and use Water Gun,” she commanded, head level. “Onix, I want you to take over for Hawlucha.”

Onix looked at Dawn oddly, and chose not to do anything.

“Onix,” Dawn hissed, “Battles are one of the main ways of getting stronger.”

Estelle was impressed that Dawn had kept her cool. Most trainers in that situation, with the battle so dire and dangerous, would have started yelling. Dawn stuck to the book and remembered Onix’s motivation. It worked, too- the big snake uncoiled and launched itself into the fray.

To his credit, the armored fighter did not back down. He waited for Onix to be too close to change direction, then dodged, letting the creature’s head slam into the ground behind him. Evidently, the man felt that the Onix was out of his league- perhaps his sword could not damage it- and he recalled his Pokemon, turning tail and running.

Meru tugged at Estelle again, who was busy looking on in shock. The sheer destruction that Pokemon caused was no news to her, but the man’s ability in combat was unheard of. It was especially impressive considering the weapon- there were very few remaining who knew how to wield one, considering the availability of Pokemon.

Dawn grabbed Estelle, the force finally taking her out of the state of shock she’d been in.

“Let’s go! I don’t know if there are more of those people,” Dawn said as she recalled a frustrated Onix.

“Yeah. Yeah, let’s go,” Estelle said as she watched the concerned trainers of Infernape, Drapion, and Hawlucha rush to the Pokemon Center.

(-o-)

They had settled down after a bit of running, when the clashes of battle, blasts of power, and roars of rage had faded into nothing but the dripping, pattering noises of a quiet cave. Due to the acoustics of the tunnel, this actually meant that they were not far from the exit near Jubilife by the time the group stopped running.

Panting and gasping for air, Dawn grabbed onto Estelle’s shoulder for stability. The tanned girl took the extra weight without complaint.

Estelle shivered. Images of a sliver of shining steel poking through Infernape and chopping into Drapion flickered through her mind. A ringing in her ears, that she had associated with pushing herself too far when running, just got louder and louder. The sight of Infernape’s horrified face was stuck in her brain, filling her vision. No- that was the tears that started rolling down her cheeks.

The fisherman’s child sobbed. Then, her will reasserted itself, and Estelle brought her world back under control. Images were filed, sounds muted, scents drowned…

And she was herself again. Dawn seemed to have missed her little episode, preoccupied with catching her breath. She seemed a bit pale, but otherwise fine.

Lifting her head up, Estelle took a better look at their companions. Of the older trainers, it was actually those with weaker Pokemon left- they had not been a threat, and were ignored. Behind them some ways, Heather could be heard gasping and staggering, and not too far from them was the Glaceon’s trainer.

Estelle looked over to him. The boy seemed like he was from Hoenn, or another island region. His dark skin and hair were a surprisingly familiar sight to Estelle- at one point or another, he had been an assistant to her local Professor.

The flash of recognition in his eyes signaled that he remembered her, too.

“Wow,” Gavin said, “Is that Estelle I see? I’m glad your mom finally let you go!” He put out a hand, asking for it to be shaken.

As Estelle completed the gesture, “Uh… yeah. It’s good to be out here.”

“So when did this happen? Judging from that Onix of yours sorta listening,” Dawn frowned a bit, but did not interject, “It’s been a while,” Gavin replied, smiling.

Is it weird that everyone I meet is so optimistic? Estelle thought before replying.

“No, that was Dawn’s Onix,” Estelle said, “And I’ve only really been a trainer for a few weeks.”

Gavin just shrugged, “Well, better late than never. Alright, I’ll be going now. I have enough supplies to go through the wilds and reach Mt. Coronet. Be headed out to Hearthome. See ya.”

Dawn spoke up now. “Yeah, we’ll be headed back to Jubilife first,” she said.

“See ya,” Estelle added.

Dawn and Estelle just stood there for a while while Gavin walked off. They waved when he looked back.

Heather came rushing out a few minutes later, and the process essentially repeated itself, much to Dawn’s chagrin.

With that, the two girls, alone again, turned to Jubilife City. Before they went any further, though, Dawn touched Estelle’s shoulder.

“Hey. Are you, you know, okay? After all that? You really froze up back there,” the blue-haired girl inquired worriedly.

“What? Yeah, of course I’m fine. I did that to a ton of Magikarp back in my home town,” Estelle lied through her teeth. Already she had done something shameful in front of Dawn. It had not even been twelve hours since then, and Estelle would not allow it to happen again so soon.

Dawn frowned, “I guess. Let’s get moving, then.”

|Sinnoh News Radio|

Let me tell you about the story of the goings-down in Oreburgh. The mysterious Silverknight Coalition revealed their dastardly hand, attacking the city and taking the North Gate. Thankfully, the local Gym Leader, Roark, was able to repel them, with the help of the local police force…

...and the valuable assistance of a wanderer, part of a pair. A girl, no older than sixteen, was spotted fighting off one of the elite soldiers of the Coalition. See, folks? Real people, the trainers of the world, are helping out. That, my friends, is fighting the good fight. If you're listening, keep it up, kid. The world needs more people like you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pacing?
> 
> Anyways, some people on FF seemed to like this fight scene, others did not. I don't. Really, it's up to you.
> 
> Hopefully, you can hang onto this last shred of fighting spirit for just one more chapter. It's the newest one, and the one I really want to hear about. So if you've somehow enjoyed this, and made it all the way here, I beg of you- keep reading, and leave me a nice little comment.


	8. One Step Back...

|International News Network|

Reporter Robert: Two days ago, the somewhat unknown Silverknight Coalitions attacked the city of Oreburgh in Sinnoh. Reports put fatalities surprisingly low, but there were many crippling injuries.

This came as a shock to the relatively peaceful Sinnoh region, which has not had a city attacked in over a year, since the defeat of Team Galactic and its remnants. In addition, the Silverknight Coalition was previously believed to be nothing more than a designer clothes company. Karen?

[Video switches to one of the streets or Oreburgh.]

Journalist Karen: Thanks, Rob. I’m here, live in Oreburgh, as firefighters and police attempt to repair and regain control over the North Gate. So far, it is going smoothly. After the Silverknights raided the local museum, taking everything, their forces retreated suddenly, through the use of what eyewitness reports say were Steelix.

That’s right- over ten Steelix, all in one place. The resources required for this operation were immense. Back to you, Robert.

[Back to the INN broadcasting center.]

Reporter Robert: Thanks, Karen. We’ll update our viewers as more information arises about the incident. Now, regarding the Team Rocket remnants, the newly proclaimed Champion Red has been…

\--

Estelle had learned something from the incident at Oreburgh. It was something she had always known, really, but the incident had really driven it home.

She needed to be stronger. A lot stronger. That was why she had Meru doing power exercises now; not only would it build her attack power, but the strength she worked for would allow her to make better psychic shields, as well. It was pretty simple- Meru would be trying to push down a tree. Once she could do that easily, her task would become lifting said tree.

Pumpkaboo, on the other hand, was working on some sort of grass-type move. He (as she had finally been allowed to learn) was limited in his ability to fight without one, so Estelle was trying to teach him Bullet Seed. So far the gourd could send them flying fast enough to sting- according to Dawn, at least- but not damage a Pokemon. Estelle wanted him to crack the rock Meru had trained on when they were last in Jubilife’s nearby training field, and with the speed he was progressing at it looked plausible.

Dawn was concerned more with Onix. Not to say Piplup was being neglected; she had the little blue bird trying to make his Water Gun more powerful, headed in the direction of Hydro Pump.

But Onix was her main charge. Dawn had her nose in Roark’s book, reading and reading, while Onix watched her lazily. After that, Dawn explained in detail what being a trainer’s Pokemon meant, and once more offered Onix the chance to go. As before, Onix mulled over the thought for a time before accepting.

After that, Onix seemed a bit more willing to comply. He was not perfect, of course- Onix refused to slam into things on command, preferring to launch rocks. He also tended to ignore orders to defend, which was determined when Pumpkaboo sparred against him.

Still, it was an improvement over “almost disobeying in critical situations.” Estelle suspected that in such a situation, Onix would follow Dawn’s commands better.

(-o-)

Seeds clattered against the stone, still upended from the last time Estelle was here.

Pumpkaboo hissed in frustration.

“It’s okay, little guy,” Estelle comforted, “You’ve only been at it for a few days. And,” Estelle shot a glance at a little guide Dawn had printed for her, “I’ve got some ideas to help you.”

A quick glance in her direction was the only confirmation Pumpkaboo gave her.

“Alright, first you will need to, ah,” Estelle paused, “prepare the seeds by moving them to your mouth.”

Pumpkaboo seemed to stand still, more or less. Despite that, Estelle could still feel the concentration radiating from him- probably literally, as he was a Ghost-type. Moments later, he turned to Estelle, giving her a nod.

“Next, you’ll need to infuse them with power…? I dunno, it’s pretty vague,” Estelle informed.

Pumpkaboo’s little cheeks inflated, a look of understanding dawned on his face, and once again he nodded fiercely. The next step was straightforward enough for Pumpkaboo to already know what to do.

Four seeds catapulted into the rock, smashing into it and launching chips of stone into the sky. He turned to Estelle, a toothy (well, pointy-bits-of-pumpkin-y) grin plastered on his face. It remained even when Pumpkaboo learned that he had to keep at it until he could pull it off quickly.

(-o-)

Meru’s training did not require Estelle’s intervention, but it was significantly more challenging. The little black Pokemon was pushed to her limits during the week it took her to knock over the tree. Lifting it up again was much easier- the strength difference was not so great at that point.

Meru felt accomplished. The feat of strength was not something her kind was known for- rather, conniving tricks and defense were their strengths. But Meru, at a young age, had done something that not too many of her breed could have.

Estelle was such an odd trainer, but Meru figured it was probably done in the intent of having her power surprise foes. After all, not many expected a Gothita to have excellently powerful Confusion and Psybeam attacks.

And, Meru was proud of Pumpkaboo. The ghost-type had been upset about his low power level, and she was glad to see it going up. Soon, he would be approaching her own level of ability, again impressive for such a young Pokemon. Meru had not been entirely certain as to why Estelle had decided to take such a young Pumpkaboo with them, but it seemed like that would pay off before long.

As she rested, Meru contemplated Piplup. The stubborn bird had a tendency to get angry while he did his training. She pushed that from her thoughts, and stood up. As Pokemon were not really allowed to be out in the city, Meru treasured her time training. Regardless of how tiring it was, she got to be with Estelle. That was important. Time to capitalize on it.

(-o-)

Estelle had frantic dreams that night.

A girl stood across from her, long hair blowing in the wind. A blue backdrop, totally flat and devoid of features. The scene changed, Dawn’s hand pulling her out from a pool; Estelle was not sure how she knew that. It changed back- the girl reached out, and vague impressions of loneliness wafted across the deep blue. Estelle tried to walk to her, but a somehow alien sensation of barriers prevented her from doing so. It changed again, and Estelle stood before Cynthia, Champion of Sinnoh with a Gothitelle and a Gourgeist. Another swap, and Infernape after Infernape chased her through trees, with daggers for leaves and swords for trunks.

Estelle awoke with a gasp, still somewhat disoriented by having her own bed. Jubilife was not as abandoned as before, but nowhere near as crowded as Oreburgh had been (at least, not anymore- almost all the trainers had left for Floaroma or gone home after the events in Oreburgh). She relaxed. It was still night, she could tell. Meru sat at her spot by the window, eyes fixed on some distant object that Estelle was never able to find.

She moved her eyes to the bed above her, and tried to relax and sleep, hoping to forget her dream. Pleasant slumber came before too long.

(-o-)

The next day, Estelle was awoken by an all-too-excited Dawn, which was surprising given that it was barely light out.

She mumbled a few inarticulate questions as she sat up.

“C’mon, silly, we’ve got to get going! The shops are open, and you have money to spare,” Dawn grinned, “Now get changed out of that tank top and into your dress. We have things to buy.”

Some time later, Estelle found herself back on main street. It was not terribly busy, but the shops were actually all open this time. Dawn pulled her into the same store as last time, though, and directed her to various racks and clothing items. A green, loose tee, a blue jacket of notably higher quality than her old one, some surprisingly practical hats… all things Estelle denied.

She was not really looking for new clothes. What she had was fine.

“No,” Dawn protested, “It so is not. I mean, just look at your clothes from traveling. That battered long sleeve thing you call a shirt? Those hideously worn jeans? You’re practically in need of an intervention.”

“But they’re expensive,” Estelle grumbled. If she was totally honest, she knew where Dawn was coming from. Maybe Estelle was not the most fashion conscious, but even she liked to feel pretty.

“And you’re rich,” Dawn countered. “Those trainers you kept challenging, especially that trio of snobs, gave you a lot of money, and that reward for getting your first badge was good, too.”

Once again, Dawn was right. Estelle admitted as much, and they went back to looking.

It was not long before Dawn piped up again.

“What do you say about a haircut? They have a stylist here,” the girl pitched carefully, avoiding offense.

“That sounds fine. I really need one,” Estelle agreed. It was true- she had caught herself in the mirror recently and suddenly noticed how poorly of a job she had done in Canalave. Months of growing unhindered had not helped.

Soon, she was sitting in under a stylist’s hand. Dawn watched from the waiting area.

“You can go shopping,” Estelle said.

Dawn just smiled. “I’ll wait here.”

The stylist asked Estelle what she wanted for her hair, but she was not entirely sure. Dawn seemed to notice her distress, though, and asked if she needed any help deciding. When Estelle agreed, the girl came up to show the stylist what she thought.

Her fingers pulled Estelle’s hair up gently, and Dawn indicated where she thought it should be cut. Slender fingers ran shapes across Estelle’s face, as the stylist received instructions about where her hair should fall to, or her bangs land. Soon, Dawn pulled back, and the stylist asked Estelle something.

Flushing, Estelle asked, “Can you repeat that?”

“I was asking if you were okay with what she said,” the stylist explained.

Estelle panicked for a moment, but quickly recovered, saying, “Yeah, it’s fine.” She had not actually heard the specifics of what Dawn was saying, having faded into a sort of daydream.

The stylist began cutting.

(-o-)

Estelle was surprised at the haircut. It was the shortest she had ever worn her hair, with the longest ends coming down only to her chin.

At the front, it was a standard bob cut with bangs swept to Estelle’s left. When it got to the back and sides of her head, though, it was cut to the “pixie” fashion, short but not shaved. Estelle liked it; the disparity between the front and back was kinda cool. She would not have thought to cut it like that.

“Is there something wrong with it?” the stylist asked nervously when Estelle was silent for over a minuted. She snapped out of her reverie.

“Oh! Yeah, it’s really nice. Thank you,” Estelle said.

After that, they paid for the haircut and went back to shopping.

(-o-)

Dawn looked Estelle over. She was clearly pretty nervous about showing off, but she looked good.

The seafoam sweater, which had a very wide neck, revealing all the way to her shoulders, went nicely with her hair, providing contrast. She got to wear jeans, but these were of a slimmer fit, not the loose work jeans Estelle had brought with her. A white beret tied off the outfit.

“You look super cute! I approve,” Dawn said reassuringly. Estelle blushed, turning away.

“You’re just being nice,” she said. Dawn cocked her head.

“No, really, I mean it,” she said, “I’m serious, you look great.” It was entirely true- Estelle had cleaned up nicely. The dark-skinned girl just shrugged, eyes avoiding her.

Dawn stepped up to her. She took Estelle by the shoulders, and waited for the foreigner to look her in the eyes.

“Estelle, come on,” Dawn said seriously. “I would know, wouldn’t I?”

Estelle nodded meekly, “Yeah, you would.” Dawn relaxed a bit and stepped a little closer. Their chests were almost touching now, and she felt something constrict a little bit in her lungs.

“And, as the authority,” Dawn’s voice was quiet now, “I say you look great.” She leaned in a bit more, and looked into Estelle’s eyes. They were a pleasant shade of green, like the forest near Twinleaf. Dawn felt herself pulling in closer, hands gripping Estelle’s shoulders a little tighter-

And then she leapt back. In an attempt to recover, she awkwardly choked out, “And the haircut is just as even as I’d hoped. Not a hair out of place!” It felt as half-assed as it was.

By some miracle (in Dawn’s eyes), Estelle actually bought it.

“Oh,” she stammered, “I… see. Yeah, that’s, um, good.” The poor girl’s cheeks were immensely flushed; she had probably never had anyone as close as Dawn had just been. Doing something like that was rude.

Dawn’s shame ruled her, and the rest of the day was somewhat distant. She could not bring herself to close that distance.

It was only when she was brushing her teeth that she admitted to herself exactly what was going on. By Arceus, she had a crush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanna die. I'm so sorry for how chock-full of filler this is. I have my reasons, but still.
> 
> If you're ever going to comment, now is the time. This is where I am. This is where my writing really is, with the rust and wear and creakiness totally gone. Tear this chapter a new one- it'll be super appreciated by me, and if you manage to stick around, your future self.
> 
> As always, thanks for reading. Enjoy.


	9. A Natural Beauty

|An uncomfortable rift opened between them, our heroes make their way towards the distant city of Eterna, and their second badge…|

Trees lined the side of the path. Unlike the ones in the wild forest, these were cultivated, trimmed, and elegant trees, not the gnarled, vicious plants from the outskirts of civilization. Their leaves were soft and rounded, dappled with the gentle light of the sun. The kiss of a breeze rolled through the treetops, rustling in the leaves.

Starly could be seen resting in branches, and if one looked closely, the odd Caterpie would be found hiding in a bush. In the places where light twinkled down from the loose canopy, Budew gathered in small groups, the occasional Roselia among them. All of the Pokemon noticed the trainers nearby, but only a few did anything about it. Most seemed too carefree, busy enjoying the day, to actually feel like fighting.

Estelle could also challenge the many trainers that wandered the route. Nothing but a trainer with a Honedge really stood up to Meru’s new-and-improved Psybeam; the Honedge was a very powerful counter to Meru. In general, though, the battles ended after just one Pokemon was defeated, as nobody wanted to waste such a beautiful day by injuring their friends. Every trainer wanted a conversation, or to walk with them for a ways before going back and hunting for some specific Pokemon. Everyone agreed that 204 was gorgeous, trainers young and old alike.

In essence, it was a great place for someone to forget their troubles. After the recent awkwardness between Estelle and Dawn, she was grateful for that. The scenery was the sort that she had seen before, though, and as Estelle walked she found herself missing the coast.

Even if she had not been there by choice, it had been such a beautiful thing. The way the ocean quietly blanketed everything with a calming white noise, the way sand whipped across her skin, even the way all those Wingull would call into the sky. The large rocks jutting from the deep blue, sprays of white flashing into existence around them at regular intervals. Mr. Briney and his boat, laughing and helping Estelle meet her quota, chatting amicably about the sea, and sharing wonderful stories from it. She could remember the one he always told about how Peeko saved him from a Gyarados, though that seemed like it was probably a bit of a tall tale.

It was during this bout of nostalgia that Estelle walked into the large man.

A large, wide-brimmed hat adorned his round face. It matched the brown-and-green coat he wore, and was similarly battered. The man’s large brown beard was clean, like his round face, and had curled up with the pleasant smile currently resting on his face. Beside him was a Glameow that looked fairly content to stop.

“Ha! You scared me for a moment there,” he said. His voice was jovial and as loud as he was large. Estelle flushed in embarrassment, stepping back rapidly.

“I’m very sorry, Mister! I just wasn’t paying attention well enough and--” He cut her off with a sweeping chop of his big hand and a booming laugh.

“The name’s Brian. Drop the Mister, too- I’m just hiking, not running a company,” Brian said with a grin.

Estelle smiled at him, “Ah! Nice to meet you, Brian. I’m Estelle, and this is my friend Dawn.”

“Yeah,” Dawn said, “It’s cool to meet a friendly hiker. Where are you headed?”

“Actually,” he said somewhat sheepishly, “I’m headed to Floaroma. I’m hiking the most beautiful places in Sinnoh, after all.”

“We’re headed there, too! And seeing all of Sinnoh’s beauty? That’s a really awesome goal,” Estelle said, “Where are you headed after Floaroma?”

“Probably Eterna Forest, and then the peak of Mt. Coronet,” Brian replied, “What about you?”

Dawn replied this time, saying, “We’re out to Floaroma, and then Eterna. Estelle wanted to see the flower fields.”

“Yeah, me too,” Brian stated, “You mind taking on a third? I think it would be cool, and I haven’t really traveled with anyone else yet.”

The way Estelle saw it, another person would probably help to break the barrier between Dawn and her. Speaking of which, she still was not entirely sure why it had spawned, though Estelle could see it was related to when Dawn checked her hair. Perhaps her reaction was extreme, or rude; Estelle did not know, not really having any experience with people other than Brendan and her mother since she was eleven.

But, she could not help but feel that shying away was normal for such sudden closeness. Nobody else had done that since she had arrived in Sinnoh, and it had not happened in Hoenn either. And for it to be somebody like Dawn? Someone very classy and pretty? Making such a fa--

“Earth to Estelle,” Dawn said with a wave, “You zoned out there. You okay?”

Estelle turned bright, “Of course! I just got lost in, uh, thought.”

Dawn snorted, “About what? You just dropped a conversation. I’m sure you’ve offended Brian.”

Brian just waved it off amiably, “No, it’s fine. Happens to me all the time from being alone in the wilds so much.”

Estelle breathed a sigh of relief. Brian had saved her skin; if the nod he sent her way when Dawn was looking away was any indication, then it had been intentional. She liked him already.

(-o-)

“Here we are,” Brian sighed, “The Ravaged Path. The only ugly part of this route.”

He was far from incorrect. The path was really a tunnel, a remainder from the construction of Route 204. Originally, it had been intended as a temporary bypass while an easier path was carved, but between Team Galactic, Team Rocket, and the nightmare that their attempted summoning of Dialga and Palkia had caused, the path had been forgotten.

Instead, a dripping, dark tunnel was all that remained. Water pooled in a few areas, but it was pretty dry and level. Geodude pulled themselves around, idly munching on rocks. It was pleasantly cool in the Ravaged Path, and the path forwards was marked.

There were far fewer trainers in the cave, all of which Brian was happy to let Dawn and Estelle handle. He said his Pokemon were not really the kind one used in a fight; Glameow was the only one with any real experience.

So Estelle and Dawn fought a few trainers. Those using Rock-types fared better than most, and one particularly skilled battler defeated Meru with a combination of Sand Attack and gust from his Starly.

But mostly, the trip through the Ravaged Path was uneventful, and all three travelers were grateful to be out in the forest again. Estelle was the first one out, followed by Dawn and then Brian.

Friendly chatting had been something Brian brought to the group. Compared to Dawn and Estelle, he was extremely sociable, and was much more prone to starting conversations. They talked about the scenery, the coolest Pokemon they had ever seen (Supposedly, Brian had glimpsed a shiny Pikachu, but neither girl believed him), and the prettiest place they had ever seen.

“I really liked the plains of Kanto. You really won’t find such gently rolling grasslands anywhere else,” Brian said after Estelle explained her love for the coast.

“Well,” Dawn said, “I visited the base of Mt. Coronet with my family when I was younger. The place is so big, you can’t get a sense of that scale without seeing it. Brian nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, it really is awesome. I understand completely,” he replied.

(-o-)

Conversation continued like that for a long time, until the light faded to gold, shadows deepened, and everything went to sleep. The group camped on top of a cliff, not far from the edge (though still a safe distance).

After setting up her tent, Estelle walked up to the edge, and sat down, her legs dangling over the face. It was something she had wanted to do since she was little, and it was a bit exhilarating. Estelle felt like she was gonna fall over the edge at any moment, but she did not. Instead, she looked out towards Jubilife.

In the distance, the lights of the city were becoming clearer. The skyline was half illuminated in a deep orange glow, and half coated in purple, murky shadow. It was a beautiful contrast, one reflected in the landscape. Mt. Coronet’s hulking form was nearly all gold from this angle, and the rocky faces and green paths could be seen clearly. Opposite the mountain, the deep forest remained its stoic green, only slightly changed by the oncoming dusk. 204’s cultivated ponds, on the other hand, had become the same shade of gold, purple, or orange as the particular part of the sky under which they resided. On the right side of the path, where the sun crept ever downwards, everything became purple and black. It held its own beauty, did the darkness, but Estelle preferred the soft, warm hues of the sunlight.

Her reverie was interrupted by someone sitting down next to her. Pale, slender legs, covered only partially by a pink skirt, found their place not far from Estelle’s.

“Hey,” Dawn said, “I just wanted to talk.”

Estelle shrugged. In her opinion, there was not much to talk about; she had moved on past the incident a while ago. It was mostly Dawn who was awkward, but Estelle let her talk.

“Uh, about what I did on our last day in Jubilife,” Dawn said, “I just wanted to apologize properly. I haven’t and it was bothering me.”

Estelle was not much of a person for people, but even she could tell that Dawn was nervous. In an attempt to reassure her, Estelle put her hand atop Dawn’s and gave it a squeeze. It was a little embarrassing, but she remembered that Dawn seemed to like touch.

“It’s fine, Dawn,” Estelle said with a smile, still looking out on the Route, “I got over it a while ago. I know you meant nothing by it.”

“Oh,” Dawn said, “Good.”

It was quiet for some time, but for once the silence was comfortable. In the distance, a flock of Starly landed in the trees; the distant speck of a Pokemon dipped its head into the water before heading into the forest. Trainers set up camps, little fires dotting the ever darker landscape. Behind them, Brian played with all of their Pokemon, happy to have some more company for Glameow and his other Pokemon.

Dawn leaned onto Estelle. She did not make a big deal out of it; nothing more than their position changed. Estelle could feel her warmth, and how soft she was. Her hand did not move from where it was. Dawn closed her eyes, and put her head on Estelle’s shoulder, soft blue hair draping over Estelle’s skin.

Estelle close her eyes, too. She did not relax, of course, as she would fall off the cliff, but the feeling of closeness with Dawn, the chilly night winds, the long-gone sunset…

When Estelle’s bod finally made its demand for sleep too strong to be ignored, she let go of Dawn’s hand with some reluctance, gently waking her best friend.

She sleepily opened her eyes, and Estelle guided her to her tent. Dawn turned and gave Estelle a hug right before the small ginger would have turned to leave.

Estelle chuckled, “You’re awfully friendly today, Dawn.”

“Yeah,” she muttered, “I know. I guess I’m making up for lost time. I should be back to normal tomorrow.” Estelle could not see her face that well, but she could tell it was flushed.

“Alright,” Estelle smiled, “Go to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” Dawn said, “Good night.”

With that, Estelle turned and went back to her tent. Brian was, thankfully, a quiet sleeper; he had gone to bed some time ago, and so far had not begun snoring. While she walked, Estelle reflected on the day. It had been slow, yes, but apparently that was what she had needed. Her mind was refreshed, her body would be invigorated come morning, and her soul felt a lot better now that the temporary rift between her and Dawn, as foolish and oddly short-lived as it was, had closed.

The thought of that brought some warmth back to Estelle. Her left hand, arm, and shoulder still tingled from where Dawn had rested, and she could still feel the girl’s hair tickling her skin. Estelle was not entirely sure that this was something normal for friends, but it was most likely just a result of extended isolation making her obsess over the first friend she found.

Shrugging that off, Estelle finally caved in to instinct and went to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really enjoyed writing this one. I had a bit more time and help, so I think it came out better.
> 
> Hopefully you guys agree.


	10. Floaroma Faux Pas

Estelle walked through an inky black. Her hand stood out in the darkness when she looked at it, her person being the only thing in the unwholesome dark that was visible.

The figure from her last dream was here, too, to her left. Like before, it was hard to describe it beyond “girl,” as no other real impressions came to mind. One of its arms reached out again, and the pangs of loneliness returned as well. Estelle reached out to the girl, turning to walk to her. The girl put her other arm out and started moving in her direction. Estelle rushed to embrace her, and as she got closer the familiarity of the figure increased.

With a strained gasp, she awoke. Estelle’s heart was racing, and it hurt to breathe. Meru stared down at her with an unreadable expression.

“What on earth was that,” Estelle said, coughing, “Some sort of demon?” Meru did not give any form of reply, other than gazing down at her feet. Estelle frowned, not entirely sure what that meant. Even after several months, Meru was still very hard to read. Her face was not particularly expressive.

On that particular note, Estelle stood up and got ready for the day.

(-o-)

The route was still pretty, but honestly Estelle was pretty done with it. Or rather, with Brian’s fawning. After the first day, it became pretty evident that his goal was basically all he cared about. Being a guy who did not enjoy battling, Estelle found they did not have much in common after all. He was nice enough, sure, but that was kinda it. And, as she had discovered recently…

“No way. My Pokemon aren’t for fighting,” Brian said with a shake of his head. A different trio (some kid in a hat, a guy who seemed to be asleep, and a redhead) had approached them, asking if they wanted to do a triple battle. Estelle had never heard of such a thing, and was eager to attempt it, but Brian would not battle.

“Come on,” Estelle said, “Think of the practical applications. What if we all need to fight in concert?”

Brian waved it off. “We’ll be fine. That won’t happen.”

“Whatever,” Dawn said, “Let’s not fight over it. We’ll just have to pass.” With that, the two groups went their separate ways.

Estelle was still annoyed. She was a bit surprised with herself, but presumably her fuse was this short due to a lack of sleep. An apology to Brian, and the whole thing was forgotten.

(-o-)

They walked without much event for some time. Idle chatter found itself less readily, but there still were few awkward silences. Before too long, they stumbled across a small pond, with a familiar trainer and Honedge. It was the pair that had beaten Estelle in the caves.

“Hey,” Estelle called, “We need to have a rematch! I know I can beat you this time.” Looking over, the boy- whose hair was remarkably similar to Dawn’s, now that Estelle looked- scoffed. His Honedge made a weird nose and sank a bit lower.

“Yeah, because that went so well for you last time,” the guy snorted. “What? Gonna use Psybeam on a Honedge? Or maybe Bullet Seed again?” Estelle’s face twisted into a sneer to match the punk’s own.

“We’ll beat you even with a type disadvantage,” she growled.

“What,” Brian said, “Are you actually serious? That’s a pretty stupid idea. It’s not like you’ve grown stronger since you last fought.”

Dawn added, “And I think you need to calm down. Don’t let him get to you so easily.” But the blue-haired boy just laughed.

“Too bad! She already agreed, and as per Sinnoh League rules, not fighting me is a forfeit,” he said, “So I’ll at least let you know the name of the guy who shoved reality in your face, newbie. I’m Louis.” Dawn’s advice rang clear in Estelle’s mind. 

“And I am Estelle,” she replied, not quite calm, but not seething, “Meru, you’re up first.”

Meru waddled out onto the field. Honedge floated across from her, and then the battle began.

Meru acted first, not allowing a type disadvantage to weigh upon her mind. A beam of harsh pink light careened into Honedge. However, said Steel-type was not so easily injured. It turned its phantom blade directly into the attack, channeling ghostly energy to split the beam and avoid damage. Then it sunk into its own shadow.

“Reflect!” Estelle called out desperately, hoping for some defense against the tactic. But it was in vain- Honedge’s powerful otherworldly energy split the shield in two, and the Shadow Step technique allowed it to hit Meru right in the back with a sweeping, greenish-gray swipe.

“Mind Cutter,” Louis smirked, “An ultimate move against Psychic-types.” It was true, Meru was in tears on the ground. Her irrational fear of bugs, ghosts, and the dark had left her paralysed on the ground.

That was what made those moves so powerful against Psychics like Meru. Their sensitive minds let fears spiral wildly out of control in a slip of focus- like, say, being hit by an attack infused with the essence of those fears.

Regardless of the reason, Meru had to be returned immediately. Pumpkaboo understood what had to happen without a command, and the little Pokemon hopped onto the field.

Instantly, Honedge went to repeat its technique. Pumpkaboo was similarly weak to the combo, so it had no reason not to just do it again. However, Pumpkaboo was ready for this, and leapt as high as he could. Honedge’s swipe itself missed, but Honedge followed up by slamming its hilt into the little plant.

“Stun him,” Estelle ordered, “And follow up with your strongest Bullet Seed!” A brief journey through the shadows, and Pumpkaboo would be beneath Honedge. However, Louis had other plans.

“Fight him in the shadow world! But don’t leave him there if you defeat him,” Louis said through a cocky smirk.

Estelle paled. She had not realized that there was a “shadow world” at all. Regrettably, Louis picked up on her expression.

“What,” he said, “You, the person who thinks she’s good enough to beat me, didn’t know about the ghost world?” Louis laughed. “I’ve already told you my one-hit-KO combo, so you won’t be getting anything else from me.”

And with that, Pumpkaboo, battered and cut up, tumbled out of Estelle’s shadow. Honedge calmly reappeared beside Louis.

“Maybe another time, Ace Trainer Estelle,” he snarked.

(-o-)

Estelle seethed. The cocky punk had gotten the better of her twice- the first time, he had not spoken, so it was no big deal, but his newfound attitude drove her nuts.

“Come on, Estelle, you can’t beat them all. You’ll just need to make a strategy for him next time,” Dawn said reassuringly.

“No,” Estelle snarled, “I need to be stronger. We need to grind that Honedge into the dirt.”

“Estelle, you’re letting some kid get into your head,” Dawn chided, “You’d never seen him before the first battle. Let’s just relax, alright? The view’s great, and it’s nice out.” She put a firm hand on Estelle’s shoulder. “Sit.”

Estelle breathed deeply, saying, “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. I’ll just put him out of my mind.” She sat down on a rock not far from the pond’s edge. Dawn set down next to her.

“Alright, that Honedge can one-hit-KO Meru, even through her Reflect. So we need a way to keep it at bay,” Estelle strategized. The problem there was Honedge’s Ghost-typing, which kept it from being blocked by her defensive screens. Protect would work, but Gothita did not learn that naturally, according to the guide she had printed.

No, instead she would have to find a way to keep it from getting to Meru.

“Why don’t you teach her Flash?” Dawn suggested, “It can get rid of the shadows!”

“No, not really,” Estelle said, “And it’s a momentary solution. Plus, we don’t have the TM. I was thinking something more like a sustained Thunder Wave.”

“Isn’t that quite intensive? Plus, Meru’s not an electric-type, so it’ll be hard to teach her,” Dawn said.

“Of course, but by sustained I mean for a few seconds. Just long enough to stun something, and give Meru a chance to run away,” Estelle said.

“So something to use in bursts, got it.”

“Yeah, it’s just not feasible otherwise.”

As usual during these discussions, Brian had zoned out a bit. It was now that he tuned in.

“Ah, my Shinx knows Thunder Wave. He might be able to help,” the big man offered.

“Really? That would be wonderful,” Estelle said, “Thanks!”

“Yeah, no problem,” Brian replied.

(-o-)

After another day on the road, with little progress on any training, the group arrived in Floaroma. It was a very pretty town, and very small. Houses only measured in the dozens, and they were all smallish cottages. Flowerbeds, overflowing with the beautiful plants that Floaroma was know for, decorated every windowsill and doorstep, matching the quaint feeling of the white picket fences. Paths were dirt or gravel, and never paved, adding to the rustic feel.

A large crowd had gathered in the town center. A loud, unintelligible chorus of angry people ruled the air until someone with a megaphone shut them all up.

“PAY ATTENTION, AND CAN IT. Thank you,” the speaker said, “Now really, we’re looking into it. The League Police are doing all they can to find your Pokemon.” They appeared to be a League officer of some sort.

An angry crowd member shouted, “No way you are! I haven’t seen a single detective or been asked a question yet! All you’re doing is quarantining the flower fields!” The crowd murmured in agreement, shifting uncomfortably. The din began to rear its head again.

“Come on,” the officer said, “Just be quiet already. Seriously. And, sir, I’m sorry if you were not the first person to be investigated, but we only have so many people, and it’s our second day here. So if you could cut us some slack, that’d be great.”

“Slack,” someone new shouted, “For the League!? Your only real job is to protect us, and you’ve still not found an entire town’s worth of Pokemon!” The crowd roared in agreement, louder than ever before. More shouting from the officer did nothing to quiet them, and eventually the police Luxray had to be released. The crowd backed down at the threat.

“I said, we’ll handle the situation! Now, disperse,” the speaker said, “Or we’ll disperse you.”

The crowd muttered, grumbled, and slung insults, but they dispersed. The officer handed the megaphone to the trainer of a nearby Luxray, and started walking off, the two trainers flanking him.

“What was that? I thought Floaroma was quiet,” Dawn said, curious and nervous.

Brian frowned, “I don’t like it one bit. Seems pretty bad. Keep a close eye on your Pokemon, alright?”

Estelle just nodded. It seemed pretty suspicious to her. On a thought, she returned Meru and Pumpkaboo. After all, having them stolen was less likely to happen if they were unseen. Estelle placed the Pokeballs in her backpack. Seeing her do this, Dawn and Brian did the same, and the trio headed to the Pokemon Center to secure a room.

(-o-)

Later that night, after everyone was asleep, the window to Estelle and Dawn’s room opened. Silently, a figure dropped in, looking as one might expect if they were looking through a heat wave. The air warped around it, making it impossible to identify beyond “human.” It glanced around, checking to see if anyone was watching, and then it opened the desk drawers as quietly as possible. A small scratching sound was the only noise it made. Rifling through each drawer, the figure grabbed round objects, checked them, and put them back. As quietly as possible, it shut the drawers and began searching bags.

After thoroughly searching Dawn’s bag, it paused, then removed two round objects. It moved them to its waist, then kept searching for a moment before moving on to Estelle’s bag. Once again, it found what it was looking for. Before it could get them to, presumably, its belt, the figure dropped one. It clattered loudly against the floor, and the figure looked around frantically, moving to the window quickly. But nobody awoke- they were all asleep after all.

With a posture much more tense than before, the figure grabbed the last Pokeball and exited silently into the night. One more furtive glance at the sleeping girls, and it stepped out through the window, grabbing onto the wall and shutting its entry point.

After that, it vanished into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed!


End file.
